GM’s Fourth US Battery Plant Just Stopped Being A GM Plant

In the years before President Trump returned to the Oval Office, a wave of US automakers announced ambitious joint venture battery plants with major cell suppliers, partly thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Now those same brands are hunting for ways out of these partnerships, and General Motors has become the latest to find one.

In 2024, GM inked a deal with battery giant Samsung SDI to establish a new battery factory in Indiana, costing roughly $3.5 billion. This site was to serve as GM’s fourth battery plant in the United States, joining facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan, all of which are run alongside LG Energy Solution.

Read: The 1,600 Jobs And $3.5 Billion Plant GM Promised Indiana Are Now On Hold

Citing “the slower-than-expected growth of EV demand,” it’s been revealed Samsung SDI has recently purchased GM’s 49.99 percent stake in the joint venture, meaning it will now fully own the Indiana site. As such, it’ll become Samsung SDI’s first independently operated battery site in North America. There’s no word on how much it cost Samsung to buy out GM’s stake in the partnership.

Just as we have seen Ford do at one of its US battery plants, Samsung will initially use production capacity at the Indiana site to produce batteries for energy storage systems. A press release announcing the reshaped deal is scant on details about how many battery cells will be produced at the site.

Prismatic Cells Still On The Cards

The plant was initially going to manufacture prismatic cells for future EVs from GM. This still seems to be on the agenda, with Samsung SDI confirmed that it will work with the carmaker to jointly develop a next-generation prismatic battery cell for EVs, stating the Indiana plant “could potentially” start producing these batteries for GM in the future.

GM’s decision to sell its stake in the joint venture doesn’t come as a surprise. Last December, Ford split up with South Korean battery maker SK On, handing over the reins to its joint venture battery plant in Tennessee to SK On, while itself taking control over two factories in Kentucky. Soon after, Ford also pulled out of its partnership with LG Chem.

“While reflecting recent market changes, this acquisition decision is to continue the strategic partnership with GM,” Samsung said in a statement. “We will continue our commitment to an electrified future with the partner, while utilizing the plant to proactively respond to the fast-growing ESS market in the U.S.”