Two major car manufacturers, GM and Hyundai, have announced separate plans to build electric vehicle (EV) battery plants in the US. General Motors will be partnering with Samsung SDI in a $3 billion investment for an EV battery plant, while Hyundai will be forming a joint venture with SK On for a $5 billion investment in a battery factory in Georgia.
When it is fully operational, the new GM-Samsung electric vehicle (EV) battery plant, expected to launch in 2026, will have a capacity exceeding 30GWh. This additional capacity will bring GM’s total US battery cell capacity to around 160GWh.
GM is building five battery factories in the US, including a new plant with an undisclosed location. The new plant will manufacture nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells, which are two out of three types of battery cells commonly used in EVs, contributing to a total annual capacity of 140GWh across all factories.
With South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol visiting President Joe Biden in Washington to discuss EV tax credit regulations, the recent announcements from Hyundai and GM regarding their battery plant investments take on added significance. South Korean automakers have been urging the Biden administration to reconsider new rules that prohibit foreign-made EVs from receiving the $7,500 tax credit.
The latest regulations further limit the tax credit to EVs that use battery materials mined and processed within the US or its trade partners.
Hyundai’s new EV battery plant in Georgia’s Bartow County is scheduled to start producing 35GWh of capacity annually from the second half of 2025, providing enough power for 300,000 EVs, according to the automaker. In addition to this plant, Hyundai had already revealed plans for an EV factory in Savannah, Georgia.
Several car manufacturers, including GM and Hyundai, are building new EV battery plants as part of a worldwide trend toward increased battery production. GlobalData predicts that battery production will rise from 95.3GWh in 2020 to 410.5GWh in 2024. Ford, Volkswagen, Stellantis, and BMW are among the other companies constructing new EV battery plants.
