SK On signs 18GWh reciprocal LFP supply deal with NeoVolta Power for US-made battery storage

SK On and the other big Korean battery manufacturer, Samsung SDI, are next up, with Samsung SDI making prismatic-form-factor LFP cells, Intertek CEA said, as developers scramble to meet new investment tax credit (ITC) restrictions on the use of imported cells from China, reduce import tariff exposure and to capture the upside of domestic content bonuses.  

Because of its established footprint of supplying lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for other applications, most prominently EVs, to the US market, like LG ES and Samsung SDI, SK On has gigawatt-hours of production lines that can be repurposed to make LFP cells for battery energy storage system (BESS) customers.

The South Korean company, part of the SK Group conglomerate, also manufactures, integrates, and markets its own range of BESS. Its newest, the Gen2 GridOn BESS, debuted in the US this summer, offering 4.5MWh – 5.7MWh usable energy storage capacity in 1-hour, 2-hour and 4-hour configurations.   

SK On signed a contract in September 2025 to supply 7.2GWh of its DC block-based systems to project developer Flatiron Energy, equipped with cells manufactured by SK Battery America (SKBA), its wholly owned subsidiary in Commerce, Georgia, a state fast becoming synonymous with US battery manufacturing.

In a June interview with ESN Premium, SK On’s North America president Joe Schnell said the company’s established manufacturing footprint was one of its “strong advantages” in the race for market share.

SK On was “rapidly growing” its energy storage team in the US, the primary target market for its GridOn products, although launches in Asia and Europe can be expected in future, Schnell told ESN Premium.     

‘Domestic energy storage platform designed to meet growing demand’

Meanwhile, customer-partner NeoVolta Power is a US-headquartered manufacturer and integrator of utility-scale and commercial & industrial (C&I) BESS technology.

The company is a joint venture (JV) between US battery storage solutions provider NeoVolta, Italian BESS technology company PotisEdge and PotisEdge’s majority owner, Chinese solar PV manufacturing major LONGi.

NeoVolta, which made its name in home battery storage systems largely targeted at the California market, holds a 60% controlling interest in NeoVolta Power. LONGi holds 20%, and a group of strategic investors holds the remaining 20%.

NeoVolta Power launched in January, announcing plans to develop a BESS manufacturing platform in Pendergrass, Georgia, with an initial 2GWh annual production capacity, capable of scaling to 8GWh, and aimed to begin mass production this summer.

The company secured US$23 million towards the construction of the factory complex a month later, noting that it would enable NeoVolta to broaden its focus from residential to larger-scale energy storage projects.

Yesterday, NeoVolta said that the collaboration with SK On would enable a faster ramp-up of its Pendergrass factory to its targeted annual capacity of 8GWh across two production lines by 2030. The initial production line is on track for commissioning and production ramp-up, the company claimed.

NeoVolta’s CEO, Ardes Johnson, spoke with ESN Premium a few months ago to explain how the company formed a JV with a Chinese company to manufacture BESS in the US, while remaining compliant with Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules. Johnson said talks had been ongoing between NeoVolta and system integrator PotisEdge even before PotisEdge was acquired; NeoVolta knew that, given its background in home systems, it needed a partner with utility and C&I experience.

Johnson noted that big players such as Tesla and Fluence were “gobbling up the capacity available” of US-made cells in the near term and that NeoVolta would be using Chinese products “while we still can.”

“The next step would be using non-Chinese, Southeast Asia cells or then eventually US-made ones,” Johnson said at the time.

Speaking about the SK On deal this week, Johnson said the initial agreement “secures long-term access to US-manufactured LFP cells for our Pendergrass production expansion, while the broader collaboration positions NeoVolta Power to manufacture energy storage packs for SK On.”

“Together, these initiatives reinforce our strategy to build a domestic energy storage platform designed to meet growing demand for reliable, high-performance BESS solutions,” Johnson said.  

LG ES signs lithium carbonate deal for US supply chain

In other US battery storage supply chain news, LG ES has followed up the 18 August opening of a new EV and BESS cell factory complex in Lansing, Michigan, with a deal to purchase US-produced lithium carbonate.

LG ES said yesterday that it will source 8,000 metric tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate over a ten-year period from Smackover Lithium, a partnership between Standard Lithium and Equinor. The cathode material will be sourced from a project in Arkansas and, therefore, qualify as a non-prohibited foreign entity (PFE) supplier.

LG ES also claimed that the direct lithium extraction (DLE) and purification process used by Smackover Lithium’s South West Arkansas (SWA) project is more sustainable than other forms of extraction. The battery manufacturer, which also operates a US energy storage system integration subsidiary, LG ES Vertech, said it now has a fully integrated local supply chain in the market.