Indianapolis Business Journal
Indiana scored big again earlier this month in the national sweepstakes to land new battery production plants for electric vehicles.
General Motors and South Korea-based Samsung SDI announced plans to build a $3 billion electric vehicle battery plant near South Bend, bringing 1,700 jobs to northern Indiana.
This comes just a year after Stellantis and Samsung SDI unveiled plans to build a $2.5 billion battery plant in Kokomo that is expected to open in 2025 and create up to 1,400 jobs.
These victories put Indiana in a great position to maintain and grow its status as a major auto and auto parts manufacturer as the industry makes an unprecedented shift to electric vehicles amid a national and global push to reduce carbon emissions from internal combustion engines.
Economic development leaders at the state and local level deserve our gratitude for keeping Indiana in the hunt for these lucrative projects in what has become an intense competition among the states.
Landing the GM project in New Carlisle, just west of South Bend, seemed touch and go for a while. That’s because the automaker’s original partner, LG Energy Solution, decided in January not to proceed even after the St. Joseph County Council approved a tax incentive package.
But as Alex Brown of IBJ Media’s Inside INdiana Business reported, patience and persistence paid off this week when GM announced Samsung SDI as its new partner for the plant with construction slated to start next year and production beginning as early as 2026.
Part of the reason for the EV battery land rush across the United States is new rules that require a certain percentage of battery parts to come from North America for vehicles to qualify for a $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act.
In February, American Securities research analyst Andrew Obin reported at least 17 new EV battery plants have been spurred by the new federal incentives and represent $52 billion in capital expenditures.
Indiana can’t win every EV battery competition, of course. The state was mentioned in media reports as a possible site for a Toyota EV battery plant that ultimately went to North Carolina.
We also recognize that the fight for EV battery plants can drive up the cost of government incentives. And while the incentive package for the GM-Samsung SDI project hasn’t been finalized, we ask officials to remain vigilant in making sure all companies receiving state and local assistance meet the terms of their economic development agreements.
At the same time, we loudly and enthusiastically applaud the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the administration of Gov. Eric Holcomb for doing what it takes — within reason — to keep Indiana ahead of the game.
We look forward to a healthy return on the investment in terms of jobs, economic impact and a continued demonstration that Indiana is a great place for the next wave of the auto industry to do business.