Samsung, GM to build $3 EV battery cell plant in the US

Samsung SDI and General Motors are bringing a new electric vehicle battery cell facility in the US, the companies announced on Tuesday. 

The joint venture will be centered on making "high-performing, nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical batteries" to be used “exclusively” for General Motors’ electric vehicles. Mass production for the project is planned to begin in 2026.

Samsung SDI CEO Yoon-ho Choi said his company will provide the highest-quality products possible to help the motor company "strengthen its leadership in the EV market."

General Motors CEO Mary Barra says project will help the major U.S. auto maker scale its EV capacity in North America to "well beyond 1 million units annually."

GM, once part of the country's iconic Big Three automakers, who built only gas-powered vehicles, is now betting big on an electric vehicle future.

The company has vowed to move completely away from carbon emissions cars and sell only EV’s by 2035. And this battery cell plant venture marks another step in that direction, as well as the fourth of its kind.

GM is currently in the middle of three cell factory projects with LG Energy in South Korea.

Also Tuesday, GM said it plans to "double" EV production in the second half of 2023, with a target of 50,000 units in the first half. 

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