Samsung SDI Takes Full Control of Indiana Battery Plant, Targets U.S. Energy Storage Market

Samsung SDI Indiana energy storage manufacturing plans took a significant step on August 11 as Samsung SDI said it will acquire General Motors’ 49.99% interest in their New Carlisle, Indiana battery joint venture and take full control of the plant, positioning the facility to address growing U.S. demand for stationary energy storage batteries.

The factory was originally planned as a roughly $3.5 billion EV-battery operation with 27 GWh of initial annual capacity. Samsung SDI now says the New Carlisle facility could be used to respond to the expanding U.S. energy storage system market as slower-than-expected electric-vehicle demand reshapes its manufacturing strategy.

The ownership change ends the battery manufacturing joint venture

Samsung SDI and GM originally finalized their agreement for the New Carlisle plant in August 2024. At the time, Samsung SDI said the companies planned to invest approximately $3.5 billion and build 27 GWh of initial annual battery-cell capacity, with the potential to expand to 36 GWh.

That structure is now changing. According to Reuters’ August 11 report on Samsung SDI’s announcement, the South Korean battery manufacturer will terminate the joint-venture agreement and acquire GM’s 49.99% stake.

The transaction reflects a materially different battery market from the one the companies anticipated when they committed to the factory. EV demand has grown more slowly than originally expected, while demand for stationary batteries used in grid and other energy-storage applications has accelerated.

Energy storage could give the Indiana factory a new market

The most consequential part of the announcement for the power sector is Samsung SDI’s plan to use the manufacturing asset to pursue U.S. energy storage demand.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung SDI plans to use the New Carlisle plant for batteries serving energy storage systems and other advanced applications. The factory was initially designed around EV batteries.

That potential conversion adds another example of battery manufacturers adapting automotive production assets for stationary storage. Utility-scale battery deployments, commercial storage and data-center power requirements are creating markets for cells that do not depend on vehicle sales.

Samsung SDI Indiana energy storage production could also increase domestic battery supply available to a U.S. storage industry that is deploying increasingly large projects. However, Samsung SDI has not yet publicly specified how much of the New Carlisle plant’s capacity will ultimately be allocated to ESS products.

Samsung SDI has already been shifting manufacturing toward ESS

The New Carlisle decision is not an isolated change in Samsung SDI’s manufacturing strategy. The company has been moving additional production resources toward stationary storage as EV-market conditions change.

Samsung SDI’s own corporate history documents its expansion of North American battery manufacturing, while its ESS business spans utility, commercial, residential, UPS and telecommunications applications.

Industry reporting in July also indicated that production lines at Samsung SDI’s StarPlus Energy operation in Indiana were being adapted to manufacture energy-storage batteries, including lithium iron phosphate cells intended for ESS applications.

GM and Samsung SDI are not ending their battery relationship entirely

The ownership transfer does not mean the two companies are severing all battery-development ties.

Samsung SDI and GM have agreed to continue collaborating on next-generation prismatic battery technology for potential future electric-vehicle applications, according to the August 11 announcement reported by Reuters.

The distinction matters. GM is withdrawing from ownership of this particular manufacturing joint venture, while Samsung SDI is gaining control of an industrial asset that can potentially serve a broader range of battery markets.

The plant’s final ESS configuration remains uncertain

Several details remain unresolved. Samsung SDI has not publicly established how much of the factory’s original 27 GWh capacity will be dedicated to stationary storage, what ESS cell chemistry will be manufactured at New Carlisle, or when commercial ESS production from the facility will begin.

The plant therefore should not yet be described as a fully converted ESS factory.

What is clear is the strategic direction: Samsung SDI is taking sole control of a major U.S. battery manufacturing facility while explicitly identifying the growing American energy storage market as one of the opportunities for the asset.