Durbin said Samsung is in discussions to build a battery
plant in Normal, Illinois, according to a video of the press conference posted
on the Pantagraph newspaper website. Electric-vehicle startup Rivian has a
factory in Normal and said in April that Samsung SDI would supply battery cells
for its vehicles.
"We are competing for a major Samsung battery facility.
The delegation came in from Korea this week. I spoke to them and others did as well,"
Durbin said. "This Samsung facility, we hope, will be located next door to
Rivian. That decision has not been made. Having that battery facility will also
create thousands of jobs."
Last month, Reuters reported that Samsung SDI, an affiliate
of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, may build a battery cell plant in the United
States. Reuters also reported that Samsung SDI has been in talks to supply
batteries manufactured at a potential U.S. factory with electric vehicle makers
including Stellantis and Rivian, which is backed by Amazon and Ford Motor Co.
The South Korean battery maker is considering investing at
least 3 trillion won ($2.62 billion) to manufacture batteries for Stellantis
and a minimum of 1 trillion won for batteries to Rivian, according to the
source.
The source added that Samsung SDI has not yet decided
whether to launch the U.S. plant as a joint venture with carmakers, or as an
independent manufacturing site.
Samsung SDI officials have been making business trips to
Detroit recently to discuss battery supply issues with Stellantis, a person
with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Samsung SDI has EV battery plants in South Korea, China and
Hungary, which supply customers such as BMW, Ford, Volvo and Volkswagen.
Samsung and Durbin's office did not immediately comment
Thursday. Rivian declined to comment.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Rivian is in discussions
to invest at least $5 billion in a new vehicle plant near Fort Worth, Texas, a
city document showed. Durbin also said he expected Rivian to expand in Illinois
and add more jobs.
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