Samsung SDI posted its highest quarterly operating profit in three years in the third quarter of 2026, driven by utility-scale energy storage system (ESS) orders and battery backup units (BBUs) for artificial intelligence data centers.
Revenue rose 52.6% year-on-year, with operating profit reaching KRW 407.8 billion (USD 304 million) after an operating loss a year earlier. The battery division generated KRW 4.41 trillion in revenue (USD 3.28 billion), up 55.3% year-on-year, and posted a KRW 361.9 billion (USD 269 million) operating profit.
The turnaround is bolstered by data center demand for energy storage, but was anchored by the US stationary storage market, where Samsung SDI said it secured more than 60 GWh of ESS battery orders in 2026. That tally includes a 1 GWh US supply agreement with Alpha Omega Power for its nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) Samsung Battery Box 1.7 and a US cell supply arrangement with Sungrow.
The South Korean-headquartered company said that, as part of its two-track NCA and LFP chemistry strategy, it began mass production of LFP cells in October at its StarPlus Energy facility in Indiana.
US electric vehicle demand remains slow enough that factories meant to supply cells and packs for mobility purposes are not as viable as when investment decisions were made.
Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solutions have both pivoted factory lines towards LFP for stationary storage, and Samsung said it is designating its Synergy Cells plant in Indiana as an ESS production hub, and further accelerating EV-to-LFP line conversions in the fourth quarter. LG did similar with its own JV with Stellantis.
To avoid Chinese import tariffs and meet Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules, it said it has “signed long-term supply agreements for LFP cathode materials with major Korean materials companies to meet U.S. demand for supply chains independent of China.”
Samsung SDI also recently launched cylindrical LFP cells for data center BBUs and aims to close additional long-term utility-scale ESS and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) contracts before year-end, alongside bidding in South Korea’s third government-led ESS procurement round.
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