en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 11, South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI announced its plan to acquire all 49.99% of the shares held by General Motors in the U.S. battery joint venture SynergyCells, along with the corresponding ownership rights. Upon completion of the transaction, this battery plant under construction will become Samsung SDI's first wholly-owned battery production base in North America.

SynergyCells was jointly established by Samsung SDI and General Motors in 2024, with a planned total investment of approximately $3.5 billion. The initial annual battery production capacity is 27 gigawatt-hours, with expectations to expand to 36 gigawatt-hours in the future. Under the original construction plan, the plant was primarily designed to produce NCA high-nickel prismatic batteries for General Motors' upcoming electric vehicles.

Alongside adjusting the equity structure of the joint venture, Samsung SDI and General Motors signed a joint development agreement to co-develop next-generation prismatic batteries featuring high energy density and fast-charging technology. The two companies plan to apply the jointly developed battery products to General Motors' next-generation electric vehicles, and the technical collaboration will not cease due to changes in the joint venture's equity structure.

Samsung SDI plans to use this wholly-owned plant to produce electric vehicle batteries developed jointly by both parties, as well as other advanced battery products, and will establish an energy storage system battery production line at the facility. The plant's product scope will expand from batteries originally intended for General Motors' electric vehicles to also serve the North American energy storage market.

The two companies initially announced the plant construction plan in 2023, completed the joint venture agreement in 2024, and confirmed an investment of approximately $3.5 billion with an initial capacity of 27 gigawatt-hours. This equity acquisition will change the ownership structure of the project. Samsung SDI stated that the adjustment is intended to adapt to changes in the North American battery market while preserving collaboration with General Motors on next-generation battery technology.