--- title: "Korea" canonical: "https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/issue/14/korea" publication: "The Hysteresis" publisher: "The Hysteresis" language: "en-US" guide: "https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/llms.txt" permalink: "https://anchor.is/the-hysteresis/issue/14/korea" issue: 14 section: "korea" description: "LG, Samsung, SK — beyond the headlines" authors: ["Elise Huan-Cartwright"] published: 2026-09-14 updated: 2026-09-11 articles: 15 --- # The Hysteresis > The Hysteresis exists to give a small cross-functional team — strategy, investment, and procurement — a shared weekly instrument for reading the battery supply chain earlier than consensus. Success means the team consistently identifies inflection points in cell pricing, supplier health, and policy enforcement weeks or months before they surface in earnings calls, annual surveys, or trade press. The commercial mechanism is internal-first: the publication proves itself as a decision tool inside the organization, then extends to paid subscribers and a practitioner community as upside. Revenue follows utility — if the team makes better-timed procurement calls and competitive assessments because of what they read here, the publication earned its place. [Read on the website]() ## Issue 14 — Korea LG, Samsung, SK — beyond the headlines ### Supply Route Map Starting this week, the Korea section's quick-scan cards track routes instead of companies. A route is a specific supply path: operator, facility, chemistry, and named customer through to deliverable allocation. Company-level financials tell you whether a maker survives. They don't tell you whether a particular path can put cells into your project with the compliance documentation your lender requires. Seven Korean-battery-maker routes across North America have declared or are approaching ESS production as of this week. Four facilities declared production starts between July and August, all during a stretch bookended by the Labor Day holiday. Across every route, the same fields sit below the public evidence line: current GWh output, stabilized yield, customer-accepted quantities, MACRS/PFE workpapers, and uncommitted open-buyer allocation. The cards mark the highest verified status for each route and leave the gaps visible. - **StarPlus NCA Running, LFP Targets October Start** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Tag: StarPlus ESS Samsung SDI 51% / Stellantis 49%, Kokomo. NCA ESS line at ~7 GWh scale. LFP quality verification targets October 2026; initial cathode source undisclosed (L&F deliveries begin 2027). DOE loan pledge encumbers Samsung's stake through 2035. GWh output, yield, 45X filing status: undisclosed. Feature article owns full decomposition. - **L-H Battery Ohio Feeds Vertech, Nothing Else** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Tag: L-H Ohio LG-Honda JV, Jeffersonville. ESS cell mass production declared July 2026; output routed exclusively to LGES Vertech. Honda owns the building (USD 2.85B); JV operates under lease. Chemistry beyond "lithium-ion" unspecified. Output volume, yield, open-buyer allocation, FEOC/PFE workpapers: none disclosed. - **Ultium Spring Hill LFP Pouch Captive to Vertech** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Tag: Spring Hill LG-GM JV, Tennessee. USD 70M retooling completed in under five months; LFP pouch production declared July 7, 2026. Fully captive to LGES Vertech for grid and data-center ESS. LFP cathode source unnamed. GM JV governance constrains reallocation to non-Vertech buyers. - **Lansing LFP Declared, Tesla Route Starts 2027** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Tag: LGES Lansing LGES wholly owned, Michigan. LFP production declared August 2026; capacity target above 35 GWh. Named routes: Vertech (ESS), Tesla Megapack 3 (2027, USD 4.3B agreement), DTE (1.5 GW Michigan projects). No JV constraint on allocation. Q2 operating cash flow was KRW 25B against KRW 1.330T EBITDA (per Q2 2026 IR release). - **SK Georgia NCM Active, LFP Conversion Still Unconfirmed** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Tag: SK Georgia SK On wholly owned, Commerce, Georgia. NCM production active at 36.4% H1 utilization (per SK On disclosure) after 958 layoffs. LFP ESS conversion targeted H2 2026; no production start confirmed. Named external routes: NeoVolta (9 GWh, 2027–2031) and Flatiron (1 GWh, H2 2026). Brief owns NeoVolta counterparty analysis. - **New Carlisle Has a Shell, Nothing Else** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Tag: New Carlisle Samsung SDI acquiring GM's 49.99% SynergyCells stake (announced August 2026, closing pending). Building shell complete. No equipment installed, no chemistry selected, no customer named. Original 27 GWh EV plan shelved. December 2027 substantial-completion deadline per DOE loan terms. Forward planning signal only. - **NextStar Windsor Producing, but Outside US 45X** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Tag: NextStar Windsor LGES wholly owned, Ontario. Commercial cell production since November 2025; one million cells by February 2026; pack line added June 2026 (per LG Corp release). No named external customer. Canadian production excludes US 45X eligibility. Governance simplified after LGES acquired Stellantis's remaining stake. ### Route Decomposition - [StarPlus Energy — What the Route-Level Record Actually Contains]() — By [Elise Huan-Cartwright]() · Published 2026-09-11 · Format: The Earnings Decomposition StarPlus Energy is the richest Korean battery JV route in public data — audited entity financials, DOE project filings, Stellantis SEC disclosures. It swung to KRW 123.1 billion net income in 2025 on KRW 931.1 billion revenue. The record still cannot tell you whether that profit is organic or entirely §45X credits. Three DART filings during Labor Day week restructured the financing: DOE's facility ceiling cut by $3.4 billion, Samsung's entire 51% interest pledged through 2035, and the cathode supplier for October's LFP target still unnamed. ### Counterparty Check - [SK On's 9 GWh NeoVolta Deal and the Balance Sheet Behind It]() — By [Elise Huan-Cartwright]() · Published 2026-09-11 SK On's [9 GWh LFP cell supply agreement](https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/metals/090126-sk-on-lands-5-year-deal-to-supply-ess-batteries-to-us-neovolta-unit) with NeoVolta Power (2027–2031) is contracted volume. The counterparty: NeoVolta Inc. (NEOV), 80% owner of the purchasing JV, held [$11.5M cash](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1748137/000168316826003941/neovolta_i10q-033126.htm) against a $9.8M nine-month net loss as of March 31, funded by ~$22M in serial equity raises. On September 4, the day before the long weekend, it drew a [$20M secured loan at 10%](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1748137/000168316826006967/neovolta_8k.htm) collateralized against substantially all assets including NeoVolta Power's. Amortization starts December 2026, before the first cell delivery. ### Route Sources - **Samsung SDI's DOE Loan Cut from $7.5B to $4.1B — DART Filing Adds Collateral, Omits Rationale** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 StarPlus financing restructured with asset pledge per DART disclosure; basis for the $3.4B reduction remains unresolved. - **SK On's 9 GWh NeoVolta ESS Deal: 10-Q Shows Pre-Production Plant and Going-Concern History** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Unnamed foreign JV partner, no production revenue, auditor flags — the buyer chain warrants scrutiny before cells ship. - **SNE Data: Korean Makers' Combined Ex-China EV Share Dropped 10 Points Since January** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Share fell from 37.6% to 27.2% as CATL and BYD captured nearly all ex-China demand growth through July. - **Sungrow Reportedly Seeking Samsung SDI Cells for US ESS — StarPlus Supply Status Unconfirmed** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Single-source lead signals non-Chinese LFP sourcing intent; whether StarPlus actually produces is the compliance question. - **SK On's Second 9 GWh NeoVolta Tranche Is Consignment-Repurchase, Not an Outright Sale** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 SK On retains pack exposure under the framework structure — closer to tolling than a conventional customer contract. - **NeoVolta Took a $20M Loan Pegged to Stock Liquidity Three Days Before the SK On Announcement** — [Source]() — Published 2026-09-11 Amortization tied to monthly equity value traded layers market risk onto a pre-revenue counterparty's debt obligations. ## Other sections in Issue 14 - [Signal]() - [China]() - [The Log]() - [Defense]() - [Qualification]() ## More - [Publication guide]() - [Issue archive]()