Stellantis, Samsung SDI to build second Indiana battery plant

The maker of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles on Wednesday announced Kokomo, Indiana, will be the home of not one, but two electric-vehicle battery manufacturing plants with a $3.2 billion second location to open in early 2027.

The hub of Stellantis NV’s current powertrain operations will host the second U.S. plant of StarPlus Energy, its joint venture with Korean battery maker Samsung SDI. The 34-gigawatt-hour-annual-capacity plant is expected to create 1,400 jobs, boosting the total investment for battery manufacturing to $6.3 billion and 2,800 new jobs.

“Our battery ecosystem is the foundation of our electrification strategy, and our great partners Samsung SDI, the state of Indiana and the city of Kokomo have created a compelling case for locating our sixth gigafactory in Kokomo,” Mark Stewart, Stellantis’ chief operating officer in North America, said in a statement. “The BEVs coming to our North America brands play an important role in our drive to offer clean, safe and affordable mobility for all and achieve the bold goal of carbon net zero by 2038.”

The announcement comes on the 27th day of the United Auto Workers’ strike against Stellantis as the parties seek to come to a new labor agreement. The transition to EVs has been a major focus in those talks, and General Motors Co. on Friday agreed to include battery-plant workers in its master agreement, according to the union, though details haven’t been shared. UAW leaders representing Stellantis workers have said they expect the automaker to follow that pattern, even though Stellantis doesn’t have an operating battery plant in North America yet.

The investment in Indiana also means Michigan has lost out on another battery plant. GM is building one with LG Energy Solution under Ultium Cells LLC in Delta Township outside Lansing that’s slated to open in 2025. Ford Motor Co. announced a $3.5 billion battery plant in Marshall on Michigan’s west side using licensed battery technology from Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., but construction there paused last month with the Dearborn automaker stating it will have done so until “we’re confident about our ability to competitively run the plant,” citing “several considerations” amid the UAW’s strike.

Construction already is underway on the first StarPlus Energy plant in Kokomo, which is on track to open by the first quarter of 2025 with an annual production capacity of 33 GWh.

“Through construction of the second battery plant of StarPlus Energy, Samsung SDI will be establishing its largest production base for electric-vehicle batteries in North America,” Yoon-ho Choi, president and CEO of Samsung SDI, said in a statement. “We expect Stellantis brand vehicles powered by Samsung SDI batteries, featuring supreme technologies, to contribute to accelerating the U.S. transition to an era of electric vehicles.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s board of directors will consider up to $37.5 million in conditional tax credits and up to $2 million in conditional training grants based on the joint venture’s investment and job creation plans, according to a news release. The IEDC also committed an investment of up to $22 million in conditional redevelopment tax credits and up to $115 million in conditional structured performance payments.

The city of Kokomo, Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance Inc., Howard County, Duke Energy Indiana and Northern Indiana Public Service Company offered additional incentives.

“Indiana’s economy is on a roll,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement. “Today’s commitment from Stellantis and Samsung SDI will double the capital investment, the new jobs created, and the impact this joint venture will have on Kokomo and the state of Indiana for decades to come. This decision puts Hoosiers squarely at the center of innovating and developing the future of mobility, catalyzing Indiana’s leadership position in tomorrow’s global economy.”

Stellantis also has a $4.1 billion, 45-gigawatt-hour battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, it built under NextStar Energy, its joint venture with Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution. That plant has started to hire for the 2,500 jobs it’s expected to create and is slated to begin production in the first quarter of next year.

The three announced plants are the only ones Stellantis officially has confirmed. UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, however, says Stellantis wants to build a battery plant in Belvidere, Illinois, where it idled its Jeep Cherokee plant in February.

Stellantis doesn’t sell a full EV in the United States yet, though it has said it will launch production of an all-electric Ram ProMaster commercial van in Mexico for Amazon.com Inc. before the end of the year. Consumer EVs start arriving next year, including the all-electric Ram 1500 REV truck, Dodge Charger muscle car, Jeep Recon SUV and Wagoneer “S” SUV. The automaker says it will sell 25 all-electric models in the United States by 2030, when those vehicles will make up half of its sales in the country.

bnoble@detroitnews.com

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