Samsung SDI has secured a new agreement with Volkswagen Group to manufacture the automaker’s standardized prismatic battery, known as the Unified cell, at its Göd, Hungary, production facility. The company will convert two existing battery lines at Plant 1 to meet Volkswagen’s side-terminal specifications. Equipment relocation is under way, with mass production slated to begin next year. Industry estimates place initial capacity in the double-digit gigawatt-hour range.
The Unified cell, unveiled by Volkswagen in March 2021, measures 256 millimeters by 106 millimeters by 24.8 millimeters. Its side-mounted electrical terminals—rather than top terminals—allow a common format across vehicle brands and platforms using different chemistries, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel cobalt manganese (NCM). This terminal arrangement also alters pack architecture, positioning busbars centrally or laterally and integrating cooling plates above and below the cell stack.
Samsung SDI’s Göd plant is a core hub in Europe, supplying batteries to BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai Motor Group and now Volkswagen. Previously, Samsung SDI provided top-terminal prismatic cells to Audi and Porsche. Volkswagen’s Unified cell is already produced by its subsidiary PowerCo in Salzgitter, Germany, which operates a 20 GWh annual line, and by Gotion High-Tech in Hefei, China.
Volkswagen has begun fitting the Unified cell into volume models from brands such as Volkswagen, Škoda and Cupra. Production of the Cupra Raval and Volkswagen ID.Polo commenced this year at the Martorell plant in Spain.
The deal aligns with the European Union’s Industrial Acceleration Act, which phases in regional sourcing requirements for key EV battery components. Korean manufacturers account for over 80% of cell capacity in the EU, reinforcing Hungary’s strategic importance for Samsung SDI’s electric vehicle battery operations.
While Samsung SDI is reallocating capacity in the U.S. toward energy storage systems, in Europe it is expanding EV battery output. The company plans to supply cells from Göd for Kia EV2 and Hyundai Ioniq 3 vehicles built in Slovakia and Türkiye.
During its first-quarter earnings call, Samsung SDI noted recovering demand in Europe’s volume EV segment, forecast more than 10% year-over-year battery demand growth, and set a target to exceed 70% utilization at the Hungary facility in the second half of the year.
Source: The Elec
