Stellantis and Samsung SDI marked a milestone Mar. 22 in the construction of their joint venture electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Kokomo, with the raising of the first piece of steel that will form the structure of the new gigafactory.
Officials including JV’s management team and Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore signed the first steel beam before it was raised into place.
The two companies announced the formation of the joint venture in May 2022, committing more than $2.5 billion for the project, which could gradually increase to $3.1 billion.
Expected to open in the first quarter of 2025, the plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), with an aim to increase to 33 GWh in the next few years. The new facility will supply battery modules for a range of vehicles produced at Stellantis’ North America assembly plants.
Stellantis is also working with LG Energy Solution on a 45 GWh battery factory in Canada that is expected to open in 2024.
