Forge Nano, Inc., a leading U.S. based semiconductor equipment and advanced materials company pioneering Atomic Layer Deposition ("ALD") technology for artificial intelligence ("AI")-era chip manufacturing and defense battery applications, which has signed an agreement to merge with Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. ("Archimedes II"), today announced a strategic partnership with Samsung SDI.
Under the terms of this agreement, Samsung SDI will assist Forge Nano in the construction of the 3-gigawatt hour per year (3 GWh per year) battery manufacturing facility to ensure high-throughput battery production. Following Gigafactory completion, Forge Nano expects to produce Samsung SDI battery cells alongside its existing cell products in the Morrisville, North Carolina facility.
Samsung SDI has also entered into a conditional procurement agreement to purchase battery cells produced at Forge Nano's Gigafactory starting in 2028. Additionally, Forge Nano will distribute Samsung SDI battery cells in the U.S. as an authorized distributor.
"This is a landmark agreement unlike anything we've seen in the battery industry today," said Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano. "For the first time, a U.S. battery technology company will partner with a tier-1 battery manufacturer to produce their cells on American soil. This same partner is committing to ensure our operational excellence and will buy cells from that facility so they can be delivered to critical U.S. markets. This model enables Forge Nano to mitigate scaling risk and directly supply high-performance, U.S.-made battery cells to domestic defense and other critical infrastructure customers that require secure, domestic manufacturing."
Forge Nano is investing between $300 and $330 million, subsidized by a $100 million grant from the Department of Energy, to build a 3 GWh per year advanced battery plant in Morrisville, NC, that will leverage Samsung SDI's manufacturing expertise and supply chain pricing. The facility will produce both Samsung SDI cell products and Forge Nano's Atomic Armor™ cell products, and is expected to be fully operational by 2028, enabling domestic production of Samsung SDI cells for non-consumer automotive applications.
The Morrisville Gigafactory is expected to play a critical role in expanding U.S. battery manufacturing capacity, supporting defense and industrial applications, and strengthening domestic supply chains.