Samsung SDI lands 16 GWh US storage battery order

Samsung SDIs ESS solution Samsung Battery Box Courtesy of Samsung SDI
Samsung SDI's ESS solution Samsung Battery Box/ Courtesy of Samsung SDI
 
SEOUL, November 16 (AJP) - Samsung SDI will supply 16 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to BlackRock-owned Jupiter Power over three years from 2029, the South Korean battery maker said Monday.

The contract, signed by its US unit Samsung SDI America and estimated at several trillion won, lifts the two companies' combined deals to about 27 GWh.

The batteries will be made at StarPlus Energy, Samsung SDI's joint venture plant with Stellantis in Indiana.

"Securing reliable, domestically manufactured equipment is central to how Jupiter Power plans and de-risks our build program," said Andy Bowman, chief executive of Jupiter Power, which holds one of the largest storage development pipelines in the United States.

LFP cells, cheaper and longer-lasting than nickel-based batteries, are widely used in grid storage, a segment where Chinese suppliers have long held sway.

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, US projects starting construction this year must curb Chinese-linked content to claim federal tax credits.

Samsung SDI, which describes itself as the only non-Chinese maker of prismatic storage batteries in North America, began LFP mass production at the Indiana plant in October on converted EV lines.

It has also lined up LFP cathode supplies from Korea's L&F and POSCO Future M.

US energy storage installations hit a record 20.2 GWh in the second quarter, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, which raised their forecast for cumulative capacity by 2030 to 683 GWh.