Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian and battery manufacturer Samsung SDI have been negotiating to establish a joint venture battery company, and the two sides have failed to make progress. After that, the Korean company will continue to supply cylindrical batteries. A Samsung SDI spokesman said there were no specific discussions with Rivian about the battery joint venture.
Rivian was established in 2009 and listed on Nasdaq on November 10 last year, with a market value of $144 billion. But its shares have fallen about 40% since going public as the company’s production of electric trucks fell short of expectations.
The delay in the production of electric trucks has created problems in negotiations between Rivian and Samsung SDI, the sources said. They said that Rivian demanded the transfer of battery manufacturing technology and the right to inspect the inside of the factory, which is precisely unacceptable to Samsung SDI.
The U.S. company also did not guarantee the purchase of a certain number of batteries, they said. Rivian executives had previously met with a number of South Korean battery equipment makers to discuss building their own battery factories. Rivian aims to build 100GWh of battery capacity by 2025.
The source also said that Samsung SDI had reported the situation to Samsung Group leadership, who said it believed Rivian’s terms were unacceptable. That’s why Samsung SDI announced a partnership with Stellantis, they added. They believe the South Korean battery maker will continue to supply cylindrical cells to Rivian despite discussions over the end of the joint venture.