General Motors and Samsung SDI plan to invest more than $3 billion to build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States that is targeted to begin operations in 2026.

The plant will have more than 30 GWh of capacity and will bring GM’s total US battery cell capacity to about 160 GWh when it is at full production.

The companies plan to jointly operate the facility, and it is projected to have production lines to build nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells.

According to Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, the new joint venture with Samsung SDI will leverage the capital and technology of both companies to create new competitive advantages for GM.

We will continue to scale production and optimize the chemistry of our pouch cells for performance, range and cost using new approaches pioneered at GM’s Wallace Battery Center and by our technology partners. The introduction of new cell form factors will allow us to expand into even more segments more quickly and integrate cells directly into battery packs to reduce weight, complexity and costs. With multiple strong cell partners, we can scale our EV business faster than we could going it alone.

—Doug Parks

The Ultium Platform was strategically designed to accept multiple cell form factors and chemistries. For example, in China, the Cadillac LYRIQ is powered by prismatic cells applied to the same battery packs used in the US.

GM and Samsung SDI are not announcing the location of the plant or employment projections at this time, however, the number of new jobs in construction and operations are expected to number in the thousands. As customer demand for EVs rises, GM will continue to scale its supply chain and operations, including cell production and vehicle assembly.