America’s Battery Industry Finds Its Next Power Play

Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution and Tesla shift capacity from EVs as utilities and data centres drive demand for large-scale storage

19 Dec 2025

The US battery industry is changing course, and it is doing so faster than many expected. Once dominated by electric vehicle ambitions, investment and production are now swinging sharply toward grid scale energy storage.

The shift gained fresh momentum after Samsung SDI landed a major multiyear deal to supply batteries for US storage projects. The customer has not been named, but the implications are clear. Samsung plans to retool domestic production lines that were originally built for EV cells, with deliveries set to begin in 2027. Executives describe the move as a recognition that long term demand is settling in a different place.

Analysts agree. Storage, once treated as a side market, is becoming a central pillar of the energy economy. Lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries sit at the heart of that transition. Known for safety, long life, and cost stability, the chemistry is increasingly viewed as essential infrastructure rather than specialized technology.

LG Energy Solution is pursuing a similar path. The company is weighing expansions of its LFP capacity as interest surges from utilities and large technology firms. The timing is hard to ignore. States are rolling out record amounts of solar and wind. Data centers are drawing enormous power loads and need reliable backup. Utilities, under pressure from extreme weather, are racing to harden the grid.

Tesla has helped validate the trend. Through continued deployment of LFP based energy storage systems and reported supply discussions, the company has signaled that the chemistry works at scale. That message has landed with competitors still deciding where to place their next bets.

The pivot is not without risk. Permitting delays, supply chain constraints, and the chance of a faster than expected rebound in EV demand all loom. Yet industry leaders frame the shift as expansion, not retreat.

With storage projects multiplying across the country, battery makers see a broader and more resilient market taking shape. If momentum holds, grid storage could define the next decade of American battery manufacturing and redraw the map of the clean energy transition.