U.S. Version of "Energy and Electricity Coordination" Boosts Energy Storage Demand, Samsung SDI Wins $1 Billion Battery Contract

Samsung SDI announced that its North American subsidiary has signed a battery supply contract for energy storage systems (ESS) with an American energy company valued at 1.5 trillion Korean won (approximately $1 billion), with the supply period lasting until 2029.

According to TheElec, these batteries will be produced at the Star Plus Energy (SPE) plant in Indiana, USA, a joint venture between Samsung SDI and Stellantis. The plant plans to supply nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) batteries and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in sequence.

Due to confidentiality agreements, the customer company’s name and whether they provided container-integrated energy storage system products “Samsung Battery Box (SBB)” have not been disclosed. SBB is an integrated fixed energy storage solution that combines batteries and fire safety devices into a container approximately 6 meters long.

At the end of last year, Samsung SDI signed an agreement with an American energy infrastructure developer to supply lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for its energy storage systems, with a contract worth over 2 trillion Korean won, expected to be delivered in SBB units. On January 30, Samsung SDI disclosed regulatory documents showing that its US subsidiary obtained another battery supply contract, possibly related to Tesla’s ESS business.

A company executive stated, “The recent growth in orders affirms our technological capabilities and reliability in the global energy storage system market. We will meet customer demands for customized energy storage systems based on project characteristics and performance requirements.”

Currently, electricity demand in the US is rising sharply. Over the past few months, the three major regional grid operators in the US have approved a total of $75 billion in transmission expansion projects, mainly involving the construction of ultra-high-voltage lines at 765 kV. American Electric Power (AEP) has officially submitted a plan to ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) to invest about $10 billion to build an “AI power corridor” in northern Texas to serve gigawatt-scale data centers.

Meanwhile, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Amazon, Meta, xAI, and Oracle recently signed documents committing to autonomous power supply. These companies will meet the electricity needs of new AI data centers through purchasing or building power generation facilities, ensuring that electricity prices for ordinary Americans do not increase with overall demand growth.

Against this backdrop, the installation of energy storage systems is expected to accelerate. Dongwu Securities pointed out that “the further enhancement of electricity and energy coordination boosts storage demand, with ongoing projects in the US data center sector, as well as many projects in Europe and the Middle East, indicating strong demand for large-scale storage.” It is estimated that global energy storage installations will grow by 60% in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 30-50% from 2027 to 2029.

Huafu Securities stated that policies on domestic electricity prices are promoting the profitability of energy storage, which is beneficial for the long-term development of large-scale storage in China. The European residential storage market remains strong, US large-scale and residential storage installations continue to grow rapidly, and portable energy storage markets are emerging. The outlook remains optimistic for domestic large storage, industrial, commercial, and overseas residential storage markets resonating with demand.

(Source: Cailian Press)