One Cell, Two Markets: Why SampoVolt Is Building for Vehicles and the Grid

Over the past eighteen months, something important has happened in American battery manufacturing. Factories built to make electric-vehicle cells are now making cells for grid storage too. In some plants, the same building runs both.

This isn't a retreat from vehicles. It's how battery makers keep expensive lines running. SampoVolt plans to work the same way from day one.

What the big players are doing

The clearest example is LG Energy Solution. In May 2025 it started mass-producing LFP cells for energy storage in Holland, Michigan, on lines it converted from EV production. The company has said it plans to grow that capacity to more than 30 GWh by the end of 2026 [1][2].

LGES then did the same at the former Ultium Cells plant near Lansing, which it took over completely after GM sold its stake. It has a $4.3 billion deal to supply LFP prismatic cells for Tesla's Megapack 3, with production expected to start in 2027 [3][4]. In Spring Hill, Tennessee, the GM–LGES Ultium Cells joint venture began making LFP storage cells in July 2026. It converted part of its capacity in less than five months, and it kept its EV business going alongside the new work [5].

Ford is moving the same way. In December 2025 it announced a battery energy storage business. The plan is to convert its Kentucky battery plant to build LFP prismatic cells, modules, and containerized systems, with shipments starting in 2027. Its LFP plant in Marshall, Michigan, will make cells for an upcoming midsize electric truck plus smaller cells for home storage [6][7]. Ford started making its first LFP cells in Marshall in June 2026 [8].

The pattern repeats elsewhere:

• Samsung SDI is converting lines at StarPlus Energy, its joint venture with Stellantis in Kokomo, Indiana, to make storage cells, including prismatic LFP [9][10].
• SK On is using part of its EV lines in Commerce, Georgia, to make LFP cells for storage. Its supply deal with developer Flatiron Energy covers up to 7.2 GWh through 2030 [11].
• AESC retooled its plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, which originally made EV cells for Nissan, to make cells for stationary storage. The plant is now majority-owned by Fixx Energy [12].
• Tesla has built an LFP cell factory in Nevada to supply its Megapack production [13].
• Our Next Energy, a Michigan company, launched U.S.-made LFP cells, modules, and battery management systems for the grid [14].

A cell line that can serve more than one market is a safer investment than one that can't.

Why LFP/graphite fits both jobs

Most of these companies chose the same chemistry, lithium iron phosphate cathodes with graphite anodes, for good reason. LFP/graphite lasts through many charge cycles, costs less, and is very stable when things go wrong. Grid storage needs all three. So do vehicles that charge and discharge their batteries every day for years.

So I'll say it plainly: SampoVolt's hybrid packs will use LFP/graphite chemistry, which works well for both vehicles and storage.

We're starting with series-hybrid (range-extender) SUVs and pickups, where the wheels are always driven electrically and a small gasoline generator recharges the battery. Pickups and large SUVs burn a lot of fuel. We believe that's where the biggest fuel savings in the U.S. are. Automakers are reaching the same view. Scout Motors says more than 85% of its reservations are for its range-extender version [15], and Ram's extended-range 1500 is on its way [16].

Hybrids don't need giant packs, but their batteries do cycle hard. That plays directly to LFP's strengths. Starting with known chemistry is deliberate. Our innovation is in how the cell is built, using a ribbon-based cell architecture. It isn't a bet on unproven materials.

Grid storage as a paired product line

Our storage products will use the same cells as our vehicle packs. The difference is in what sits above the cell. Storage modules run at lower charge and discharge rates and are wired in high-voltage strings that connect to the 1,000–1,500 V inverters common in utility-scale projects.

In a vehicle, SampoVolt's emphasis is on unusually effective cooling. By holding cell temperature down, and holding it even across the electrodes, our design aims to let a small hybrid pack deliver the power of a much larger one without giving up cycle life. Grid storage doesn't ask for that much. It runs at gentler rates, so storage modules won't need the same degree of added cooling built in. The point is that nothing in our cell structure or architecture holds us back from storage. The same cells that work hard in a vehicle can serve this critically important market just as well.

Pairing the two product lines does four things for us:

1. It keeps our lines fully used. Expensive lines need steady volume, and two markets give us more ways to fill them.
2. It smooths out swings in vehicle demand. Vehicle programs move with model years, the economy, and policy. Grid demand doesn't follow the same cycle.
3. It supports long-term bulk contracts for materials. Steadier combined volume lets us commit to bigger, longer active-material contracts.
4. It builds our track record. Shipping certified product to utilities and automakers gives us manufacturing and regulatory experience faster than either market alone would.

Our storage work will focus only on the U.S. market. We'll start with utility-scale projects and move into commercial storage after that.

Keeping the lines running

The real point of all this is flexibility. When vehicle orders are strong, more cells go into vehicle packs. When they soften, more go into storage. Either way, the lines and the supply chain behind them keep running at a steady, full rate, whichever market is up.

That steadiness matters beyond our own plant. It's how a company our size helps build up the American battery supply chain. Materials suppliers get steady domestic orders they can plan around. And every month of uninterrupted production adds to the manufacturing know-how this country needs to rebuild.

The policy backdrop

Policy points the same way, though it keeps changing. The Section 45X advanced manufacturing credit still rewards U.S.-made cells and modules. Under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, though, it now comes with restrictions on material help from "prohibited foreign entities." Similar rules now apply to the storage investment credit for projects that begin construction after 2025 [17][18]. Storage projects can still earn the domestic-content bonus, which favors U.S.-made cells [14]. Since January 1, 2026, the Section 301 tariff on Chinese lithium-ion batteries for non-EV uses has been 25%, up from 7.5% [19].

We won't build our business on any one credit or tariff, but together they reward exactly what we're building: domestic cells, with traceable supply chains, serving both markets.

Looking ahead

The industry's biggest players have shown that one LFP line can serve both the road and the grid. SampoVolt's plan is to build that way from the start, with known chemistry and a better way to build the cell. Our goal is lines that keep running at a steady, full rate, feeding steady demand into a stronger American battery supply chain. We'll share more as we hit real milestones.

— Andrew Crawford, Founder, SampoVolt

Sources

1. The Korea Herald, "LG Energy Solution begins LFP battery production for ESS in US," June 1, 2025. https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10500273
2. Energy-Storage.News, "LG ES ramps US BESS cell production…" (2025). https://www.energy-storage.news/lg-es-ramps-us-bess-cell-production-expects-boost-from-non-china-itc-eligibility-rules/
3. Reuters, "US government confirms Tesla and LG Energy Solution's $4.3 billion battery deal," March 17, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-government-confirms-tesla-lg-energy-solutions-43-billion-battery-deal-2026-03-17/
4. Electrek, "US confirms Tesla is buyer in LG's $4.3B LFP battery deal for Megapack 3," March 17, 2026. https://electrek.co/2026/03/17/tesla-lg-energy-solution-4-3-billion-lfp-battery-deal-megapack-confirmed/
5. Ultium Cells, "Ultium Cells Spring Hill Begins Production of LFP Battery Cells for Energy Storage Systems," July 7, 2026. https://www.ultiumcell.com/newsroom/latest-news/2026/07/07/Ultium-Cells-Spring-Hill-Begins-Production-of-LFP-Battery-Cells-for-Energy-Storage-Systems
6. Ford Motor Co. press release, "Ford Follows Customers to Drive Profitable Growth; … Battery Storage …," December 2025 (via Yahoo Finance). https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-follows-customers-drive-profitable-210500380.html
7. TechCrunch, "Ford is starting a battery storage business to power data centers and the grid," December 15, 2025. https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/15/ford-is-starting-a-battery-storage-business-to-power-data-centers-and-the-grid/
8. WTVB, "Blue Oval begins production in Marshall," June 20, 2026. https://wtvbam.com/2026/06/20/950575/
9. Solar Power World, "Samsung SDI to begin LFP battery manufacturing in Indiana," December 10, 2025. https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2025/12/samsung-sdi-to-begin-lfp-battery-manufacturing-in-indiana/
10. Electronic Times, "Samsung SDI Shifts US JV Plant to ESS Production," June 2026. https://en.etnews.com/20260625200002
11. SK On press release, "SK On expands into U.S. BESS market with LFP batteries," September 4, 2025. http://eng.sk-on.com/company/press_view.asp?CompanyCode=011&idx=241&page=1&schtxt=
12. Solar Power World, "AESC sells Tennessee lithium battery cell manufacturing plant to Fixx Energy," May 5, 2026. https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2026/05/aesc-sells-tennessee-lithium-battery-cell-manufacturing-plant-to-fixx-energy/
13. Energy-Storage.News, "Tesla is making LFP cells for energy storage in the US this year" (2025). https://www.energy-storage.news/tesla-is-making-lfp-cells-for-energy-storage-in-the-us-this-year-opens-diner/
14. Our Next Energy, "ONE Launches U.S. Manufactured Grid Products: LFP Cells, Modules and Battery Management Systems," May 15, 2025. https://one.ai/one-launches-u-s-manufactured-grid-products-lfp-cells-modules-and-battery-managem
15. Scout Motors Help Center, "When will production begin for Scout vehicles?" March 23, 2026. https://support.scoutmotors.com/en/articles/13975543-when-will-production-begin-for-scout-vehicles
16. InsideEVs, "A New Kind Of Hybrid: 10 Extended-Range EVs Are Coming Soon" (2026). https://insideevs.com/features/786506/every-erev-extended-range-ev-america-2026/
17. IRS, "Treasury, IRS provide guidance … regarding material assistance provided by prohibited foreign entities under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill," IR-2026-23, February 12, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury-irs-provide-guidance-for-certain-energy-tax-credits-regarding-material-assistance-provided-by-prohibited-foreign-entities-under-the-one-big-beautiful-bill
18. OBBBA Sec. 70514, "Phase-out and restrictions on advanced manufacturing production credit." https://onebigbeautifulbill.us/obbba-text/title-vii/sec-70514-phase-out-and-restrictions-on-advanced-manufacturing-production-credit/
19. USTR, Section 301 Modifications Determination (Federal Register notice, September 2024). https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/Section%20301%20Modifications%20Determination%20FRN%20(Sept%2012%202024)%20(FINAL).pdf