GM is considering a location near South Bend, Indiana for the construction of a fourth major battery plant in the U.S. following the submission of a new tax abatement application. The proposed plant will be constructed in partnership with South Korean electronic materials manufacturer Samsung SDI, with investments expected to total roughly $3.5 billion. GM is targeting plant operations to begin in 2025.
According to a recent report from Detroit Free Press, the St. Joseph County Council in Indiana is expected to review and vote on a development agreement and tax abatements to convince GM to build the new plant in New Carlisle. The site, located roughly 15 miles west of South Bend, was the same site under consideration for a new plant set for construction under the Ultium Cells joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution. Earlier this year, GM and LG canceled plans to build a fourth U.S.-based battery plant, and GM has since pivoted to Samsung SDI as its EV battery production partner for the new plant.
“At this point, the County is working to get all of the local approvals completed on the 23rd so that GM and Samsung can make a business decision on a battery manufacturing plant location,” said Bill Schalliol, executive director of the county’s economic development, per Detroit Free Press. “If they choose our site, this would be the first GM battery plant in Indiana, and the second Samsung plant in Indiana.”
The tax incentive package was already approved for Ultium Cells last year, while the new approval lists GM as the owner, rather than Ultium Cells. The incentive package includes 100 percent tax abatements for 10 years and tangible personal property for 15 years. The new tax abatement value was not provided, although the tax abatement under the previous Ultium Cells agreement amounted to $260 million.
The new plant is expected to create roughly 1,600 jobs, with wages starting at $24 per hour. It’s also anticipated that workers will follow a similar unionization process as those at other GM battery facilities, although unionization is not a part of the development agreement. The plant is expected to reside on a 686-acre site, and will span roughly 3 million square feet spread across two buildings.
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Comments
Will this one also end up being controlled by the Chinese like the Goshen MI will?
Indiana is very conservative not liberal like MI.
And it is amusing those very conservative states who often hate EVs love the jobs. They just can’t have it both ways! So they should all just get along.
Sure we can, we’ll build the batteries and ship them to Michigan and then drive home in our ICE pickups!
We don’t hate EV’s, we hate being told we will have to convert to one.
Well on the positive side when these EV sales fail to come close to this dream capacity municipalities won’t be missing any tax revenue from these future Amazon warehouses 🙂 LOL