GM and Samsung SDI announced the location of their US$3Bn Li-ion battery facility will be New Carlise in Indiana, USA.

After being originally announced in April 2023, a joint venture between GM and Samsung SDI will construct the proposed US$3Bn Li-ion battery cell manufacturing facility in New Carlise, Indiana.  The plant is expected to have a production capacity of 30GWh in battery capacity, with first production at the plant stated for 2026.   

The cells produced at the facility will likely be similar to those produced by the GM and LG Chem joint venture, Ultium Cells, suggesting the use of ternary or quaternary nickel-based cathode active materials (NCM or NCMA) and the production of cylindrical and prismatic type cells.  The New Carlise plant is the fourth battery manufacturing plant that GM has announced in the USA, with the three other facilities being developed and operated by the Ultium Cells joint venture in Warren, Ohio; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Lansing, Michigan.  

The production of Li-ion cells using NCM/NCMA cathode materials goes against the growing trend of Li-ion cells using LFP cathodes observed particularly in Asia.  The improved energy density, and resultant vehicle range, which NCM/NCMA cathode materials provide, however, is much more suited to the ‘long-distance’ driving behaviour more common in the USA compared to European and Asian counterparts. Project Blue expects NCM/NCMA technologies to maintain a better market share in North America compared to other regions.