South Korean battery manufacturer SDI and US carmaker General Motors confirmed on Tuesday they will invest over $3 billion in a new gigafactory in the US, Kallanish reports.

The joint venture will have a capacity of more than 30 gigawatt-hours, with operations set to start in 2026. It will produce nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells to exclusively supply GM’s upcoming EVs.

The companies said in separate statements the location of the plant and its estimated employment will be disclosed at a later stage. Last month, speculation suggested the gigafactory will be based in Michigan.

However, Indiana could also be on the cards since GM has paused plans to build a fourth gigafactory there through a JV with LGES. The Ultium Cells JV is developing 135 GWh of production capacity across Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan. Samsung SDI is already developing a gigafactory in Indiana with Stellantis.

GM says the new partnership with Samsung SDI will take its cell manufacturing capacity to around 160 GWh at full production. The latest project will enable the carmaker to power “well beyond 1 million units annually,” according to ceo Mary Barra.

Doug Parks, GM vice president for global product development, purchasing and supply chain, explains that the new partnership 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 optimise 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,” he says. “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.”

The carmaker says that with multiple “strong” cell partners, it can scale its EV business faster than it could alone. Barra’s strategy is to have an EV supply chain focused on scalability, resilience, sustainability and cost-competitiveness.

“We will do our best to provide the products featuring the highest levels of safety and quality produced with our unrivalled technologies to help GM strengthen its leadership in the EV market,” concludes Samsung SDI ceo Yoon-ho Choi.