Carmakers navigating the costly and tricky transition to battery storage systems

Norihiko Shirouzu, Nathan Gomes and Akash Sriram

Wed, April 15, 2026 astatine 5:02 AM CDT 5 min read

By Norihiko Shirouzu, Nathan Gomes and Akash Sriram

April 15 (Reuters) - Carmakers and artillery companies facing a anemic U.S. marketplace for electrical vehicles are scrambling to repurpose artillery factories to marque energy-storage systems to substance AI's thirst for powerfulness instead. But converting plants to caller types of batteries won’t beryllium easy, nor volition the request for vigor retention materialize accelerated capable to sorb a glut of unused mill ‌space for EV batteries.

The expected surge successful request for energy and vigor retention comes astatine an opportune clip for automakers similar General Motors and Ford Motor and their artillery suppliers -- Asian manufacturers that see Japan's ‌Panasonic Holdings, and South Korea's Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution. These companies implicit the past decennary spent oregon earmarked much than $100 cardinal toward artillery factories to provender a U.S. electric-vehicle marketplace that has been decimated by the Trump administration’s pro-fossil-fuel policies.

Stationary retention systems usage lithium-ion artillery cells – ​similar to those successful EVs – that store powerfulness often generated by renewable sources similar star and wind, and merchandise it during times of precocious request oregon grid stress. U.S. request is expected to turn partially to enactment information centers and unreality computing, which gully gobs of electricity.

But the predicted vigor retention roar wouldn’t travel adjacent to offsetting the bust successful request for EV batteries, a Reuters reappraisal of projected U.S. battery-factory capableness this decennary found. U.S. request for EVs already had been falling abbreviated of automakers' archetypal projections adjacent earlier a $7,500 user taxation recognition expired September 30, sending income down much than 25% implicit the past six months.

Converting factories to the benignant of artillery chemistry that galore vigor retention systems usage volition instrumentality clip and yet much money, ‌and necessitate the companies to delve into a exertion that contiguous is dominated by ⁠China.

Bob Lee, caput of North America for LG Energy Solution (LGES), a artillery limb of Seoul-based LG Group, said his institution is converting 3 of its factories successful North America to nutrient batteries for retention systems. He expects the artillery concern successful the United States to proceed to conflict with excess capacity, what helium calls "fallout" from the EV bust.

“Like immoderate different manufacture ⁠that goes done a hard play similar this, I don't deliberation it's going to beryllium each rosy,” helium said.

Ford said it is spending $2 cardinal connected a caller battery-storage part implicit the adjacent 2 years to "create a new, diversified and profitable gross stream." GM's associated task with LGES, called Ultium Cells, said past period it volition person an EV-battery works successful Tennessee to marque artillery cells for storage.