Manufacturing News
October 27, 2026
October 27, 2026 · Howard County · Story 1 of 4
Samsung SDI Deepens Kokomo Battery Storage Pivot With Second Alpha Omega Power Deal
On October 26, Samsung SDI America signed a second supply agreement with Houston-based Alpha Omega Power for 1 gigawatt-hour of energy storage systems. Every cell and module will be built at the StarPlus Energy plant in Kokomo (Howard County), bringing the two companies' total contracted volume to 1.5 gigawatt-hours. The product is the Samsung Battery Box 1.7, a high-nickel NCA unit, with deliveries due by the end of 2026 and AOP construction on utility-scale projects in the WECC and ERCOT power markets starting in 2027.
The deal looks less like strength than positioning. Samsung SDI holds just 6.1% of the North American storage market against CATL's 38.8% and LG Energy Solution's 13.6%, and LG already beat it to a larger $1.8 billion storage deal with Michigan's DTE Energy. The sequencing stands out: Samsung SDI reportedly locked a $1.35 billion LFP cell contract back in December 2025, eight months before it publicly announced buying out GM's stake in the New Carlisle battery joint venture, which suggests the storage pivot was planned before the ownership changed hands, not built on top of it afterward. AOP's backer, Canadian infrastructure firm Fengate, is also the kind of patient, multi-year capital that doesn't disappear after one order.
- Impact
- This isn't Samsung SDI flexing strength: deep research shows it holds just 6.1% of the North American ESS market versus CATL's 38.8% and LG Energy Solution's 13.6%, and LG already beat it to a larger $1.8 billion DTE Energy deal in Michigan. The real story is sequencing: Samsung SDI reportedly locked a $1.35 billion LFP cell contract back in December 2025, eight months before publicly announcing its buyout of GM's stake in the New Carlisle JV, suggesting the ESS pivot was planned before ownership changed hands, not opportunistic afterward. AOP's quiet backer, Canadian infrastructure firm Fengate, also means this is patient, multi-year capital, not a one-off spot order.
- Watch
- Watch whether Stellantis formally exits its 51% stake in the StarPlus Energy JV: Samsung SDI has already loaned the venture $1.05 billion, and a full buyout would let it re-spec all 67 GWh of Kokomo capacity toward ESS without an automaker's consent.
- For the huddle
If Samsung SDI's own executives say secured U.S. ESS orders already fill a large share of production capacity through 2029, should we be reaching out now to lock Indiana-based supply relationships before the order queue closes?
Samsung SDI's own executives have said secured U.S. orders already fill a large share of production capacity through 2029, so if you supply components, logistics, or labor into that supply chain, now is the time to make contact, not after the order queue closes.
Sources
- Samsung SDI Signs 1-GWh ESS Deal, Expands Indiana Storage Push · carboncredits.com
Earlier coverage
From the brief, October 27, 2026
- Samsung SDI Deepens Kokomo Battery Storage Pivot With Second Alpha Omega Power Deal
- Northern Indiana Anodize Completes $4M Fort Wayne Expansion
- Exhibit A Plastics Opens New Bainbridge Facility, Relocates From Coatesville
- Indiana Diesel Prices Push Toward $7 a Gallon as U.S.-Iran Conflict Escalates
This story
Related
- Steel Tariffs Drive Up Indiana Manufacturing Construction Costs as Fair Oaks Fertilizer Funding Lands
- Indiana Grid Capacity Tightens as Crane Lands a Microreactor and Kokomo Pitches a 1.5-Gigawatt Data Center
- Rolls-Royce's $1B Indianapolis Campus, Indiana's Nuclear MOU for CANDU Reactors, and Cleveland-Cliffs' Burns Harbor Delay: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Watch
Manufacturers Energy Grant Program
Free for Howard County manufacturers
Howard County manufacturers receive free, ongoing energy auditing and cost control that reduces their energy bills and keeps them low, month after month. 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 →