South Korea's big three battery makers, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On, have together secured 37.4GWh of energy storage orders, of which 34.4GWh, or about 92%, are from the United States. In just two days in late October, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI signed a combined 5.5GWh of agreements. The three companies are using output from their U.S. plants to accelerate order-taking; their combined North American shipment share rose from 13.9% to 19.7% in the first half, while the combined share of five major Chinese companies fell 3.7 percentage points to 71.2%. As the U.S. threshold for the non-PFE (prohibited foreign entity) cost ratio rises from 60% in 2027 to 75% from 2030, competition is shifting to encompass cost, compliance and localized supply chains.
Energy storage supply agreements
South Korea's big three battery makers are accelerating their efforts to gain share in the North American energy storage market. According to industry statistics, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On have together secured 37.4GWh of energy storage orders, of which orders from the United States amount to 34.4GWh, or about 92%. In just the two days of October 26 and 27, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI signed a combined 5.5GWh of energy storage system supply agreements.
Samsung SDI announced on October 26 that it had signed a 1GWh energy storage system supply agreement with U.S. storage developer Alpha Omega Power (AOP), bringing the two sides' cumulative contracted volume to 1.5GWh including an initial order late in 2025. The products will be used for a large power project AOP plans to break ground on in Texas in 2027. The company also said that, as the only non-Chinese supplier of prismatic energy storage batteries in North America, it is in talks with several local customers and expects new orders soon.
LG Energy Solution has also been securing agreements. On October 27, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Israeli renewable energy developer Energix to supply 3GWh in Europe and 1.5GWh in the United States, totaling 4.5GWh of energy storage systems, by 2028. In addition, LG Energy Solution will supply 2.9GWh of storage batteries for Google's largest solar-plus-storage project and is working with DTE Energy on a 6GWh storage project.
SK On, for its part, announced on August 31 that it would supply 9GWh of lithium iron phosphate pouch cells to U.S.-based NeoVolta Power and plans to provide another 9GWh of cells, which NeoVolta Power will process into storage battery packs before SK On buys them back.
Local production and market share
The three companies' efforts to secure orders in North America are directly tied to their localized production footprint. LG Energy Solution operates seven sites in the United States, five of which have been converted to produce lithium iron phosphate storage batteries, and its storage cell capacity there will exceed 50GWh by the end of 2026; in February it also acquired the 49% stake in NextStar Energy held by Stellantis. Samsung SDI's StarPlus plant in Indiana is expected to begin mass production in the fourth quarter, giving it about 30GWh of annual storage battery capacity in the United States by the end of 2026; in August it acquired all of General Motors' shares in Synergy Cells, taking over a planned 27GWh plant in Indiana that is expected to prioritize storage batteries after mass production begins in 2027. SK On already has three plants in Georgia and Tennessee and a joint venture with Hyundai Motor, HSBMA, for a combined local capacity of about 100GWh; in May it completed an equity restructuring of its BlueOval SK joint venture with Ford and took over the Tennessee plant, and is evaluating producing storage batteries there from 2028.
In contrast to the Korean expansion, Chinese battery makers are showing signs of retreat from the U.S. storage market. According to market sources, CATL (300750.SZ), Hithium and others are substantially withdrawing from the U.S. energy storage business. Market share data supports this assessment: SNE Research statistics show that in the first half of 2026, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI's combined share of North American energy storage battery shipments rose to 19.7% from 13.9% a year earlier, an increase of 5.8 percentage points; LG Energy Solution's share alone increased to 13.6% from 4.2% in the first half of 2025, lifting it to third place. The combined share of five major Chinese companies, including CATL, Hithium and CALB, still stands at 71.2%, but that is down 3.7 percentage points from 74.9% a year earlier.
Note: Order figures are based on public disclosures, and the companies' reporting dates vary.
Policy requirements and storage demand
Policy thresholds are the key variable in this competition for orders. The U.S. requirement for the non-PFE (prohibited foreign entity) cost ratio of storage batteries will rise from 60% in 2027 to 75% from 2030, meaning order allocation will no longer depend on price alone but on cost, compliance and localized supply chains together. In announcing its partnership with Samsung SDI, AOP specifically stressed that the agreement helps strengthen the U.S. local supply chain, a factor that has become an important consideration in procurement decisions.
On the demand side, the U.S. storage market is still expanding rapidly. Daishin Securities expects U.S. storage installation demand to reach 80.6GWh in 2027, up about 29% year on year, with AI data centers and replacement demand from the existing power grid jointly driving growth. The brokerage also estimates that the three Korean battery makers had about 200GWh of North American storage orders in reserve as of the end of 2025, and believes that previously full order books are becoming available and earnings will gradually reach a turning point.
For Chinese companies, whether their cost advantage can translate into new orders and profits depends on how quickly they can close gaps in localized delivery and compliance capabilities. Under the dual pressure of aggressive order-taking by Korean companies and steadily rising regulatory thresholds, competition in the North American storage market is shifting from price alone to comprehensive supply chain capabilities.
Original article: finance.biggo.com
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
