Samsung SDI takes over $3.5B Indiana battery plant
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- Samsung SDI is acquiring GM's 49.99% stake in their joint venture, filed as SDI-GM Synergy Cells Holdings, and converting the New Carlisle, Indiana plant into its first wholly owned battery factory in North America
- The New Carlisle plant was designed as a 680-acre site producing 27 GWh of NCA-based nickel-rich prismatic cells annually under Samsung's PRiMX brand, scaling to 36 GWh, with mass production slated for 2027 and more than 1,600 jobs
- Samsung SDI attributed the ownership change to "slower-than-expected growth of EV demand," and the company's shares fell roughly 4.5% on the news
- GM and Samsung SDI signed a separate agreement to co-develop next-generation prismatic batteries, keeping GM in a supply and development relationship even as it exits plant ownership
- Samsung SDI plans to add an energy storage system (ESS) battery line to the newly wholly owned factory, a move aligned with its broader pivot from EV cells to stationary storage for grid-scale and data-center demand
- The $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired on September 30, 2025, triggering production cuts across US automakers; GM took a roughly $6 billion charge scaling back EV output and has idled its other Ultium Cells venture with LG Energy Solution
Why it matters: GM exits a $3.5 billion plant at the exact moment its EV order book is shrinking, while Samsung SDI absorbs full construction risk and a 4.5% stock hit to repurpose the Indiana facility toward grid-scale storage and data-center demand. The timing — two months after the federal EV tax credit expired — shows battery makers pivoting from auto electrification to stationary storage as the real growth lane.
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