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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.

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 ESS

StarPlus NCA Running, LFP Targets October Start

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 Ohio

L-H Battery Ohio Feeds Vertech, Nothing Else

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.

Spring Hill

Ultium Spring Hill LFP Pouch Captive to Vertech

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.

LGES Lansing

Lansing LFP Declared, Tesla Route Starts 2027

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

SK Georgia NCM Active, LFP Conversion Still Unconfirmed

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

New Carlisle Has a Shell, Nothing Else

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

NextStar Windsor Producing, but Outside US 45X

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.

The Earnings Decomposition

StarPlus Energy — What the Route-Level Record Actually Contains

By Elise Huan-Cartwright— September 11, 2026

Feature image for article: StarPlus Energy — What the Route-Level Record Actually Contains

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.

The Earnings Decomposition

StarPlus Energy — What the Route-Level Record Actually Contains

By Elise Huan-Cartwright— September 11, 2026

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

SK On's 9 GWh LFP cell supply agreement with NeoVolta Power (2027–2031) is contracted volume. The counterparty: NeoVolta Inc. (NEOV), 80% owner of the purchasing JV, held $11.5M cash 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% collateralized against substantially all assets including NeoVolta Power's. Amortization starts December 2026, before the first cell delivery.

Then there is the separate prospective 9 GWh framework where SK On supplies cells, NeoVolta Power assembles packs, and SK On buys them back. Per S&P Global, this is not yet contracted. If it signs, SK On becomes both supplier and end buyer. Annualized, the signed 9 GWh runs ~1.8 GWh/year against SK On's 94.3 GWh nameplate — useful line fill, but the downstream demand signal requires more scrutiny than the headline suggests.

Counterparty Check

SK On's 9 GWh NeoVolta Deal and the Balance Sheet Behind It

SK On's 9 GWh LFP cell supply agreement with NeoVolta Power (2027–2031) is contracted volume. The counterparty: NeoVolta Inc. (NEOV), 80% owner of the purchasing JV, held $11.5M cash 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% collateralized against substantially all assets including NeoVolta Power's. Amortization starts December 2026, before the first cell delivery.

Then there is the separate prospective 9 GWh framework where SK On supplies cells, NeoVolta Power assembles packs, and SK On buys them back. Per S&P Global, this is not yet contracted. If it signs, SK On becomes both supplier and end buyer. Annualized, the signed 9 GWh runs ~1.8 GWh/year against SK On's 94.3 GWh nameplate — useful line fill, but the downstream demand signal requires more scrutiny than the headline suggests.

NeoVolta Power LLC — Delaware JV, formed Jan 2026. 80% NEOV / 20% unnamed foreign affiliate (service-based vesting, no cash contribution disclosed). Georgia pack line targeting 2 GWh initial capacity.

Parent cash trajectory — $795K (Jun 2025) → $11.5M (Mar 2026) via serial equity raises. Accumulated deficit: $25.8M. Going-concern language in both 10-K and 10-Q.

$20M loan (Sep 4) — 10%/yr, amortizing from Dec 2026, matures Mar 2028. $5M minimum cash covenant. Encumbers JV assets.

JV capex deployed — $1.2M of $7M initial contribution spent on construction as of March. Up to $25M more due through Jun 2027, contingent on market-condition financing.

Second 9 GWh — Prospective only. Reciprocal structure: SK On buys back assembled packs. No third-party offtake disclosed.