 |
(Yonhap) |
Samsung SDI may build a battery plant in central Illinois, according to a report by Reuters on Friday.
The news came after Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said in a press conference that there were discussions to bring in a “major Samsung battery facility” during their meeting with South Korean delegations this week.
While the decision has not been finalized, said Durbin, the facility will possibly be next to electric-vehicle start-up Rivian, which said in April it would source EV batteries from Samsung SDI.
The news follows last month when multiple foreign media reports said that Samsung SDI would build a battery plant in the United States. Samsung SDI was reportedly in talks to supply batteries to EV manufacturers like Rivian and Stellantis, each backed by Ford Motors and Amazon, respectively.
The company is said to invest at least 4 trillion won to supply batteries to the two EV makers, reports said.
Following reports from Reuters, Samsung SDI admitted it had a meeting with Illinois State government officials, but did not confirm any details on a potential factory there.
“As we have said in the second quarter conference call, the company is reviewing plans to expand our EV battery manufacturing line to the United States. The meeting (reported in the media) was part of our location search. We regret being unable to provide further details on the matter,” said Samsung SDI Friday.
Samsung SDI has EV battery plants in China and Hungary, and supplies to customers such as BMW, Ford, Volvo and Volkswagen.
By Kang Jae-eun (
kang.jaeeun@heraldcorp.com)
