GM and Samsung SDI announced Tuesday that they will form a joint venture for battery production.
In a release, the companies made clear that this joint venture, starting with more than $3 billion, won’t initially be making batteries directly replacing or augmenting the brand’s Ultium cell strategy that it developed with LG.
The new plant, according to the companies’ announcement, will make “high-performing, nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical batteries that will be exclusively supplied for GM’s upcoming electric vehicles.” That’s markedly different than the very large-format pouch cells championed, for economies of scale, by the three Ultium Cells LLC plants GM already has in the works, with the help of a $2.5 billion federal loan.
GM Ultium battery – cell stacking
Cylindrical cells, for instance, could be much easier to integrate within lower-profile vehicles, versus those large-format pouch cells—making them prime candidates for low-slung electric performance cars or sporty, aerodynamically effective sedans. GM has confirmed a future electric Corvette, and such an arrangement might be feasibly extended to an electric Camaro replacement—one that might pass muster with strict North American materials-sourcing requirements.
The new factory, once ramped up, will have a capacity of more than 30 gigawatt-hours. Mass production there will start in 2026.
The diversification in format isn’t a surprise. GM in January underscored that the Ultium platform itself is chemistry-agnostic and that pouch, prismatic, or cylindrical cells can be compatible. GM is already using prismatic cells in several Ultium-based vehicles for China—including the Chinese-market Cadillac Lyriq.
Chevrolet FNR-XE Concept – GM China
GM also this morning confirmed that, as its Orion Assembly in Michigan transitions to electric trucks, the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV will be discontinued at the end of 2023. GM and Honda are working together on a shared replacement architecture for affordable EVs that will underpin the Bolt’s replacement and use “next-generation Ultium battery technology,” according to GM, but that appears to be unrelated to this announcement.
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
According to reports, the new joint-venture facility will replace a fourth from Ultium Cells, the GM joint venture with LG. AP specifically reports that the flawed Chevrolet Bolt batteries behind its fire-related recall had a role in that decision—even though LG reimbursed GM about $1.9 billion for the issue.