Manufacturing News
August 27, 2026
August 27, 2026 · Statewide · Story 2 of 3
Samsung SDI Takes Full Control of New Carlisle, and Indiana Now Holds North America's ESS Concentration
Samsung SDI is taking full ownership of the $3.5 billion, 27-gigawatt-hour battery cell plant in New Carlisle (its first wholly owned battery facility in North America) and pivoting the plant to include an energy storage system line targeting U.S. grid storage demand.
New Carlisle becomes Samsung SDI's second active Indiana ESS production node alongside StarPlus Energy in Kokomo. To be precise about what that means: StarPlus is a Stellantis-Samsung SDI joint venture with mixed EV and ESS cell production, operating under a one-billion-dollar four-year supply contract. New Carlisle is different, wholly owned by Samsung SDI and configured specifically for grid-scale ESS from the start. Taken together, Samsung SDI's North American ESS capacity is now geographically concentrated in Indiana, which materially alters the calculus for in-state suppliers and logistics providers.
The ESS pivot at New Carlisle is also structurally clean: the shell reportedly has no EV machinery installed, so Samsung SDI avoids the sunk-cost retrofit problem competitors face converting completed EV lines. If your operation serves materials, logistics, or maintenance for battery manufacturing, the question you need to answer is whether you've mapped the supply chain differences between EV cell production and grid-scale ESS production. Those are not identical requirements.
For your morning huddle
- Q
How does Samsung SDI's full ownership of New Carlisle change the supply chain opportunity for Indiana manufacturers?
Samsung SDI now operates two Indiana ESS production nodes (New Carlisle and StarPlus Energy in Kokomo) making Indiana the geographic concentration point for Samsung SDI's North American grid-scale battery capacity. Suppliers that serve battery manufacturing should audit their product and service fit against grid-scale ESS requirements, which differ from EV cell production in materials, logistics, and maintenance needs.
From the brief, August 27, 2026
- SK Hynix Breaks Ground in West Lafayette, and the Detail the Ceremony Buried
- Samsung SDI Takes Full Control of New Carlisle, and Indiana Now Holds North America's ESS Concentration
- RayzeBio's $173M Whitestown Facility, and the Isotope Supply Risk No One Is Naming
TEG Daily, before your morning huddle
A short Indiana energy and manufacturing scan, delivered before the workday starts.
Related
- NIPSCO's 12-Day Gary Blackout, the IURC Contradiction Behind It, and What Indiana Manufacturers Must Model Before September 8
- AES Indiana Rate Deadline September 5: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Model Before the IURC Vote
- IURC Grants Eminent Domain for Boone County LEAP Transmission Lines to Blackstone-Backed Developer
Manufacturers Energy Grant Program
Free for Indiana manufacturers
Manufacturers from qualifying Indiana counties receive a free monthly 35-point audit of their electric bills for cost recovery and savings. Every line item checked and validated, every opportunity found comes with a step-by-step guide to capture it.
EDCs: sponsor this program and it carries your organization's name For economic developers →