Bernstein: Battery Weekly: North American energy storage expands as solid-state battery production progress diverges

North American energy storage expansion: Where do orders and capacity stand?

Samsung SDI and US energy company Alpha Omega Power have added 1 GWh of energy storage supply, bringing their cumulative contracted volume to 1.5 GWh. The cells and modules will be produced at a plant in Indiana, and the systems will be used in grid projects in the western US and Texas.
LG Energy Solution is expanding its North American energy storage manufacturing network. Annual cell capacity at its Lansing, Michigan, plant exceeds 35 GWh; the company is increasing local production of lithium iron phosphate cells for energy storage, plans to mass-produce prismatic cells, and has set a target of approximately 50 GWh for total North American energy storage capacity.
LG Energy Solution and Energix also plan to cooperate over the next 24 months to develop 2 GWh of energy storage projects, including approximately 1.5 GWh in Europe and 0.5 GWh in North America. The first project in Lithuania, with capacity of approximately 320 MWh, is targeted to begin commercial operation in 2027.

US electric vehicle demand is developing more slowly than previously expected. General Motors plans to add several hybrid SUVs at its Michigan plant later this decade to broaden its powertrain lineup beyond all-electric vehicles.
Hyundai Mobis plans to add hybrid battery module and pack assembly lines in India and Indonesia to support Hyundai Motor's expansion of local hybrid vehicle production. Investment in equipment for the new lines is expected to be 40 billion to 60 billion South Korean won, and investment including battery production equipment in other regions is expected to exceed 100 billion South Korean won.
Safety remains an important constraint on cell manufacturing: Audi is recalling 9048 Q4 e-tron vehicles because some high-voltage battery cells may overheat and catch fire. While the batteries are assessed and a permanent solution is prepared, charging for affected vehicles is capped at 80%.

CATL has advanced its solid-state batteries from validation cells of approximately 10 Ah to 20 Ah samples. It still plans pilot production in 2027 and larger-scale manufacturing around 2030. The project targets cell energy density of approximately 500 Wh/kg, but the company has not confirmed that this is the final mass-production specification.
The semi-solid-state approach is further along: Great Wall's SVOLT has begun mass production of 100 kWh semi-solid-state battery packs in Changzhou. The company says the 900V system can add approximately 500 kilometers of range in 12 minutes and has a cycle life of more than 3000 cycles. Several customers are currently evaluating the product.
Other chemistries are also being explored for energy storage. CATL says interest in sodium-ion batteries is increasing in Australia, particularly for storage applications with lower energy density requirements that place greater emphasis on cost, cycle life and temperature performance.

As of 30 October, the spot price of lithium carbonate was 14197 US dollars per tonne, down 3% over the past week and 28% over the past month, but still up 24% from a year earlier. The lithium hydroxide spot price fell 29% over the same one-month period.
According to Bernstein's cell cost estimates, the spot cost of lithium iron phosphate cells was 57 US dollars per kilowatt-hour, down 4% over the past month but still 5% higher than a year earlier. The recent decline in raw materials and the change in cell costs have differed in magnitude.