The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News – July 26, 2023
Stellantis is building a second U.S. gigafactory under a partnership with Samsung SDI to manufacture the batteries needed for at least 25 new battery electric vehicles in the North American market by the end of the decade.
StarPlus Energy gigafactories in the U.S. will utilize cutting-edge battery technology developed by Samsung SDI to power Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram EVs in North America.
Adding to the skyrocketing demand for lithium battery materials, global automaker Stellantis and battery manufacturer Samsung SDI have agreed to build a second gigafactory in the United States.
The newest facility to be constructed under the StarPlus Energy joint venture forged between the two companies last May is slated to have the capacity to produce 34 gigawatt hours of batteries per year, which is roughly the size of Tesla's original Gigafactory One in Nevada.
Stellantis and Samsung SDI are already building a 33 GWh battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana, which is nearly 50% larger than the $2.5 billion facility that was originally planned for the site.
"By establishing the joint venture with Stellantis last year, we laid a solid groundwork for marking our presence in North America," said Samsung SDI President and CEO Yoon-ho Choi. "The second plant will accelerate our market penetration into the U.S. and help Stellantis push forward the U.S. transition to an era of electric vehicles by supplying the products featuring the highest levels of safety and quality."
The StarPlus Energy battery plants will utilize cutting-edge battery technology developed by Samsung SDI to power Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram EVs being manufactured by Stellantis in North America.
"This new facility will contribute to reaching our aggressive target to offer at least 25 new battery electric vehicles for the North American market by the end of the decade," said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. "We are continuing to add more capacity in the United States together with our great partner Samsung SDI and laying the next steps to reaching our carbon neutrality commitment by 2038."
As part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis has set a target of selling 5 million battery EVs per year by 2030. Toward this electrification strategy, the company is targeting battery EVs making up half of its passenger car sales in the U.S. and 100% in Europe by the end of the decade.
The global automaker – which also owns European brands such as Alfa Romero, Fiat, Maserati, and Peugeot – is working toward securing roughly 400 GWh of battery capacity to achieve these targets.
Stellantis' investments in the e-mobility future extend all the way to the mineral exploration projects that could be the future mines at the very front of the EV supply chains.
"We are on an aggressive path to securing a holistic portfolio of raw materials needed to meet our Dare Forward 2030 electrification targets," said Maxime Picat, chief purchasing and supply chain officer at Stellantis.
Stellantis' proactive strategy to secure future raw materials strategy includes investments in Alliance Nickel (nickel-cobalt), Controlled Thermal Resources (lithium), Element 25 (manganese), Kuniko Ltd. (cobalt-nickel), McEwen Copper (copper), Terrafame (battery chemicals), and Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd. (lithium).
While there is no guarantee that all these early-stage mineral projects will be developed into mines, for a relatively small investment, Stellantis places itself at the front of the line to get the battery materials from the ones that do.
The new and expanded U.S. battery gigafactories it is building in partnership with Samsung SDI are adding to the need for these mining projects Stellantis is supporting.
The Kokomo gigafactory in Indiana is slated to launch in the first quarter of 2025. The newest battery factory to be built under the StarPlus Energy JV is projected to begin production by 2027. The location of the second gigafactory has yet to be finalized.
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.
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