General Motors’ fourth electric-vehicle battery cell plant will be built in New Carlisle, Ind., according to a statement by Gov. Eric Holcomb. The unnamed joint-venture with Samsung SDI will create 1,700 manufacturing jobs and start manufacturing nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells in 2026. At full capacity, the Indiana plant will produce over 30 GWh of EV battery cells annually.
“This joint venture and the 1,700 people there will help supply cells for millions of all-electric vehicles for customers across North America,” stated General Motors chairwoman and CEO Mary Barra. “The strong support of local and state leaders in Indiana and the combined resources and expertise of GM and Samsung SDI will help us move faster than we could on our own.”
The scope of Indiana’s contribution to developing the new operation was not announced.
In April, GM and Samsung SDI announced their partnership to invest over $3 billion to develop and operate the plant. GM has three other battery-cell manufacturing plants through its Ultium Cells LLC joint venture with LG Energy Solutions, one operating in Ohio and the others in development in Michigan and Tennessee.
The Ultium battery cells are based on nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum (NCMA) chemistry, meaning GM will have alternative EV power sources available for the range of vehicles it plans to introduce during the next decade.
GM is simultaneously developing new internal combustion engine products and preparing for an all-electric future, pledging to sell only EV products by 2035. The automaker has five plants already in Indiana, including a ICE light-duty truck assembly plant at Fort Wayne that is scheduled for a $632-million upgrade.
