GM’s battery plant with Samsung was supposed to house 1,600 employees. The plant would initially have 30 GWh of capacity for up to 300,000 EVs. Site may switch from nickel-rich batteries to lithium iron phosphate batteries. Another U.S. electric vehicle battery plant is on shaky ground as local EV demand keeps sliding. This one is the massive facility GM and Samsung have been building near New Carlisle, Indiana, and its future is now anything but certain. The $3.5 billion plant was announced three years ago with initial plans for it to produce nickel-rich prismatic batteries. GM anticipated the site would initially have 30 GWh of capacity, meaning it could produce battery packs for up to 300,000 EVs annually. Capacity was then supposed to ramp up to 36 GWh. Read: GM’s EV Dream Plant Is Now A Gas Powerhouse In The Making The problem is what’s happened to the market since. With the Trump administration killing off the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, U.S. demand has cratered, and it’s getting harder for automakers and tech firms to justify writing checks this big for plants of this size. GM has confirmed that construction of the plant will be paused. In a statement to Detroit News, GM spokesperson Kevin Kelly said: “Construction of the battery cell plant in New Carlisle, Indiana will be paused to align production capacity with current demand. GM and Samsung SDI will communicate plans for the site at a future date.” The plan, for now, is to finish the building’s exterior as quickly as possible. However, after that, the future of the site remains unclear. GM’s EV Mistakes It’s possible the car manufacturer could completely withdraw from its joint venture with Samsung, which is exactly what it did in late 2024 when it pulled out of its partnership with LG Energy Solution on a Michigan battery plant. GM reportedly sold its stake to LG for $1 billion. An alternative is for GM and Samsung to remain partners and instead manufacture more common lithium-iron phosphate batteries at the site. If GM pulls out of its joint venture with Samsung, it’ll come at a cost. The company has already revealed it took up to $8.7 billion in EV-related charges and write-downs in 2025, and the money invested in the Indiana plant could be yet another misstep in its EV strategy. The site was supposed to employ up to 1,600 workers and initially set to set producing battery cells this year, although this was later delayed to 2027 a couple of years ago.