Stellantis and Samsung Announce Second Gigafactory for the US

[Drew Dowdell]

On Monday, Stellantis and Samsung announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to build a second battery manufacturing plant in the US via their joint partnership firm, StarPlus Energy.

Their first facility is under construction in Kokomo, Indiana. Targeted for production start in the first quarter of 2025, the plant was initially planned to have a production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours, later to increase to 33 gigawatt-hours as demand rises. However, the partners are bypassing the initial 23 GWh phase and are building out to the full 33 GWh capacity now. The plant is expected to be further expanded in the future to meet demand. The Kokomo plant is expected to create 1,400 new jobs.

The latest plant is slated to initially add an additional 34 GWh of capacity, with further future expansion possible. StarPlus Energy is aiming to have battery production started at the new plant in 2027. The location of the newest plant has not yet been announced.

Stellantis is aiming to offer at least 25 new battery electric vehicles in North America by 2030 with a roughly 50% BEV sales mix.  For Europe, Stellantis plans to be 100% BEV by 2030.  To meet those targets, Stellantis is working on global partnerships to secure at least 400 GWh of battery production capacity.

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[G. David Felt]

This is cool to hear but a bit sad that Stellantis is so far behind others.