The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
To produce nickel-rich Samsung SDI prismatic cells for GM EVs Metal Tech News – April 26, 2023
General Motors teams up with Samsung SDI to manufacture the batteries powering its expanding line of EVs, such as the 2024 GMC Sierra Denali.
The $3 billion battery factory being developed under a joint venture between General Motors and Samsung SDI will manufacture nickel-rich prismatic lithium-ion EV batteries.
In order to produce enough batteries for its expanding lineup of electric vehicles, General Motors is teaming up with Samsung SDI to invest $3 billion into building a 30 gigawatt-hour battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States.
"GM's supply chain strategy for EVs is focused on scalability, resiliency, sustainability and cost-competitiveness. Our new relationship with Samsung SDI will help us achieve all these objectives," said General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra. "The cells we will build together will help us scale our EV capacity in North America well beyond 1 million units annually."
GM and Samsung SDI plan to jointly operate this battery gigafactory that is projected to manufacture nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells.
"We will provide the products featuring the highest levels of safety and quality produced with our unrivaled technologies to help GM strengthen its leadership in the EV market," said Samsung SDI CEO Yoon-ho Choi.
While the batteries produced at the joint venture plant differ from the Ultium cells being produced at other GM plants, the automaker says its EV platform was designed for such flexibility. For example, in China, the Cadillac LYRIQ EV is powered by prismatic cells applied to the same Ultium battery packs used in the U.S.
This flexibility offers GM the freedom to form a joint venture with Samsung SDI that leverages the capital and technology of both companies.
"The introduction of new cell form factors will allow us to expand into even more segments more quickly and integrate cells directly into battery packs to reduce weight, complexity and costs," said Doug Parks, executive vice president of global product development, purchasing and supply chain at General Motors. "With multiple strong cell partners, we can scale our EV business faster than we could going it alone."
For Samsung SDI, the partnership with GM will further solidify its foothold in the North American market.
"It is a great pleasure to take the very first step to create a long-term industry-leading partnership with GM in the U.S. electric car market," said Choi.
GM and Samsung have yet to disclose the location they will build the gigafactory, which is expected to need thousands of workers to build and operate. With a cell production target of 2026, it should not be long for the new partnership to unveil the location of this new battery plant.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
Reader Comments(0)