Energy storage, not EVs, is lifting Samsung SDI. The Korean battery maker says it has secured more than 60 GWh of energy storage system (ESS) battery orders this year alone, and that it began mass-producing high-capacity prismatic LFP cells at its StarPlus Energy plant in Indiana in October.
The quarter
- Revenue: KRW 4.69 trillion, up 52.6% from a year earlier.
- Operating profit: KRW 407.8 billion, up from a KRW 591.3 billion loss a year earlier and the highest since Q3 2023.
- Battery business: revenue up 55.3% to KRW 4.41 trillion, with an operating profit of KRW 361.9 billion.
Samsung SDI credits strong ESS sales and battery backup units for AI data centers, along with more cylindrical batteries for power tools and EVs.
A shift in Indiana
Samsung SDI plans to use its Synergy Cells plant in Indiana as an ESS battery production hub and to speed up more LFP line conversions in the U.S. in the fourth quarter. It has also signed long-term supply deals for LFP cathode materials with major Korean suppliers, to meet U.S. demand for supply chains «independent of China».
ESS News notes that the 60 GWh includes a 1 GWh U.S. deal with Alpha Omega Power and a cell supply arrangement with Sungrow. It adds that slow U.S. EV demand has pushed both Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution to turn factory lines toward LFP for stationary storage.
For the fourth quarter, Samsung SDI expects ESS growth to continue and European EV demand to rise, while U.S. EV demand stays sluggish for now. It aims to finalize long-term utility-scale ESS and UPS supply deals within the year.