The battery joint venture between Samsung SDI and General Motors will only manufacture prismatic batteries, TheElec has learned.
The pair originally planned to manufacture prismatic batteries from three production line and cylindrical batteries from three production lines at their factory in Indiana, the US. The cylindrical battery were to be 4680 batteries (46mm in diameter and 80mm in height).
However, sources said the factory will initially no longer manufacture 4680 batteries. It will only manufacture NCA, high-nickel prismatic batteries at the start.
Trial production of 4680 batteries continues at Samsung SDI’s plant for the battery type in Cheonan, South Korea but it is expected to take some time for the company to secure enough productivity for commercial production, they said.
The plant, which has an annual capacity of 1GWh, only has a production speed of 20ppm. This is extremely low compared to the 300ppm of a commercial 2170 battery production line.
Samsung SDI and General Motors plan to spend US$3.5 billion on their joint factory which will start production in 2027 and have an annual production capacity of 27GWh, which may be upgraded to 36GWh. They could add cylindrical battery production lines during the upgrade.
South Korean suppliers Shinheung SEC and Samsungsin EDP will be supplying the can and cap needed for prismatic batteries.
Meanwhile, Samsung SDI CEO Yoon-ho Choi said early in the year that the company may build a factory run by only itself in North America besides its joint venture with General Motors. Sources said the scenario will be similar to that between Ford and CATL, where Ford owns 100% of the shares of CATL’s factory. The Chinese battery maker runs the factory themselves.
