The race to build the next generation of electric-vehicle batteries is moving closer to the factory floor. Samsung SDI says it remains on track to begin mass production of all-solid-state batteries in the second half of 2027, while continuing development work on larger cells for electric vehicles.
There is an important qualification: Samsung SDI currently expects humanoid robots, rather than cars, to become the technology’s first commercial application. EV development nevertheless remains a major part of its roadmap, including work with BMW and other customers. For Canada, that progress matters well beyond one Korean battery company. Billions of dollars have been committed to Canadian mines, processing facilities, battery-material plants and cell factories based largely on today’s lithium-ion technologies. If solid-state batteries begin moving toward commercial EV production, the competitive question will increasingly become whether Canada can adapt that supply chain quickly enough.
Samsung SDI Is Still Aiming for 2027
Samsung SDI has spent years positioning all-solid-state batteries as one of its most important next-generation technologies. The company completed its S-Line pilot facility in South Korea in 2023 after beginning construction the previous year, and it subsequently supplied prototype cells to customers for evaluation. Its current roadmap calls for mass production in the second half of 2027. Samsung markets the technology under the SolidStack name and has developed both prismatic versions aimed at vehicles and pouch formats intended for emerging applications such as robotics.
The timeline should not be interpreted as confirmation that a mass-market EV carrying a Samsung solid-state pack will appear in Canadian dealerships during 2027. During its second-quarter 2026 earnings call, Samsung SDI said humanoid applications are now the most likely starting point for commercialization. The company nevertheless confirmed that it is working with multiple automotive customers on larger-format solid-state cells. That distinction matters: 2027 represents a planned manufacturing milestone, while adoption in production automobiles will depend on validation, cost, manufacturing scale and automakers’ own vehicle programs.
The Technology Promises More Energy in Less Space
A conventional lithium-ion battery generally moves lithium ions through a liquid electrolyte between its electrodes. An all-solid-state design replaces that liquid component with a solid electrolyte. The change sounds simple, but it potentially alters several important characteristics of a battery. Scientific reviews identify higher potential energy density and improved safety as two major attractions, while Samsung SDI says its own architecture uses a proprietary solid electrolyte and an anode-free design to increase the amount of active material that can fit inside a cell.
Samsung has cited a volumetric energy density of approximately 900 watt-hours per litre for its solid-state technology, which it says is about 40% higher than its comparison with current mass-produced prismatic cells. That is a company performance claim rather than an independently established standard for every future production battery. If comparable improvements survive large-scale manufacturing, however, automakers could potentially use the extra energy for greater range or build a smaller, lighter pack while maintaining similar range. Both possibilities matter because battery size, weight and packaging remain major constraints in EV design.
Solid-State Batteries Still Have Difficult Problems to Solve
Solid-state technology is sometimes described as the battery breakthrough that will eliminate the compromises of today’s EVs, but laboratory performance and mass production are very different challenges. Recent academic research continues to identify problems involving solid-to-solid interfaces, chemical stability, ion conductivity and manufacturing. Unlike a liquid electrolyte that can maintain intimate contact with electrode surfaces, solid materials must remain physically and chemically stable against each other through thousands of charge cycles while the battery repeatedly expands, contracts, heats and cools.
Researchers have also warned against assuming that “solid state” automatically means risk-free. Solid electrolytes can reduce reliance on flammable liquid solvents, but certain chemistries still face degradation, interface reactions and potential thermal issues. Producing extremely thin, defect-free electrolyte layers at automotive scale presents another hurdle. That is why pilot lines and customer-validation programs matter so much. A battery can produce exceptional numbers in controlled testing and still be too expensive, difficult to manufacture or short-lived for a family vehicle expected to survive years of winter mornings, highway fast charging and daily commuting.
BMW Gives the EV Program a Real-World Path
Samsung SDI’s automotive ambitions extend beyond internal laboratory work. In October 2025, the company announced a three-way solid-state battery validation program with BMW and U.S.-based Solid Power. Under the arrangement, Solid Power supplies its solid-electrolyte technology, Samsung SDI produces solid-state cells incorporating the material, and BMW develops modules and battery packs around those cells. The partnership creates a pathway for evaluating whether the technology can satisfy the requirements of an actual automaker rather than simply meeting laboratory performance targets.
That does not mean BMW has committed to selling a Samsung-powered solid-state production vehicle in 2027. Validation programs exist precisely because technologies must prove themselves before those decisions are made. They examine characteristics such as durability, safety, repeatability and integration into a vehicle-level battery system. Still, the collaboration is significant for the broader industry. When an established cell producer, a solid-electrolyte developer and a premium automaker work on the same technology, the question begins shifting from whether solid-state batteries are scientifically possible toward whether they can be manufactured reliably and economically enough for commercial vehicles.
Samsung SDI Already Has a Direct Link to Canadian Nickel
Canada is not watching Samsung SDI’s battery strategy entirely from the sidelines. In 2024, Samsung SDI invested US$18.5 million in Canada Nickel Company, the developer of the Crawford nickel-cobalt project near Timmins, Ontario. The transaction originally gave Samsung approximately an 8.7% shareholding. Canada Nickel continues to identify Samsung SDI as one of its strategic investors, providing a direct financial connection between a company pursuing advanced battery technologies and a major Canadian critical-minerals project.
The agreement also gave Samsung SDI the right, subject to specified conditions, to acquire a 10% interest in Crawford for US$100.5 million and obtain rights to portions of the project’s nickel-cobalt production. Crawford passed a major milestone in July 2026 when the federal government issued its impact-assessment decision statement, although additional permits and authorizations are still required before construction can proceed. Ottawa describes the proposed operation as an open-pit nickel-cobalt mine and mill about 42 kilometres north of Timmins. For Canada, that relationship illustrates why next-generation battery developments abroad can translate into very tangible questions about mining and processing investment at home.
Canada Is Also Investing in Materials for Next-Generation Batteries
Canada’s battery strategy is gradually moving beyond simply extracting lithium, nickel and graphite. In April 2026, Ottawa announced funding for several Quebec battery-technology projects, including C$6 million for EcoPro Lithium to scale a process for producing battery-grade lithium metal and ultra-thin lithium anode foil. Those materials are specifically intended for lithium-metal battery technologies, placing the Canadian project closer to the types of advanced architectures researchers are investigating for higher-energy batteries.
Other investments address components that will remain important across a range of battery chemistries. The federal government committed up to C$70 million toward Volta Energy Solutions Canada’s C$760.9-million project in Granby, Quebec, which is expected to begin producing 25,000 tonnes of battery-grade copper foil annually in 2027 before potentially expanding to 63,000 tonnes. Ontario’s Electra Battery Materials has also received federal support for a battery-grade cobalt-sulfate refinery planned for commissioning in 2027. The exact material requirements of future solid-state cells will differ by chemistry, but Canada’s opportunity becomes stronger if it can sell processed, battery-ready products rather than relying mainly on exports of mined material.
Canada Has Cell Manufacturing Now, but the Landscape Is Shifting
Canada has already crossed an important industrial threshold. NextStar Energy’s Windsor, Ontario, facility began commercial cell production in November 2025 and produced its millionth cell by February 2026. The LG Energy Solution-owned operation subsequently added battery-pack production, allowing cells, modules and completed packs to be manufactured at the same site. That gives Canada commercial-scale battery manufacturing experience rather than only upstream mineral resources and planned factories.
Not every major project is advancing on its original schedule, however. Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo recently pushed the planned start of its C$7-billion St. Thomas, Ontario, battery factory from 2027 to 2029. The company specifically cited evolving market demand, technological advancements and its long-term strategy, saying the additional time would help the plant accommodate next-generation battery technology. Meanwhile, Vianode’s planned Ontario synthetic-graphite operation has also been delayed to 2029 as the company searches for additional strategic backing. These developments demonstrate the central challenge: battery factories require enormous investment, yet the technology and market they are designed to serve can change before construction is complete.
Canada’s Strong Position Is Valuable but Not Guaranteed
Canada entered the global battery race from an unusually strong position. Natural Resources Canada notes that BloombergNEF ranked the country first in its global lithium-ion battery supply-chain assessment in 2024, supported by critical minerals, manufacturing prospects, environmental credentials and policy backing. Canada later slipped to second behind China as slower-than-expected battery demand weighed on manufacturing progress. The federal benchmarking work also identifies roughly 250 firms operating downstream from Canada’s established mining sector, illustrating that a battery ecosystem is broader than a handful of high-profile gigafactories.
That ranking was built around the lithium-ion supply chain, however, and technology does not remain stationary. Solid-state batteries could change demand for electrolyte materials, anodes, manufacturing equipment and specialized processing. At the same time, current lithium-ion chemistries—including lower-cost LFP cells—continue to improve and will not suddenly disappear if solid-state production begins. Canada therefore faces a balancing act. It must make existing investments productive while ensuring research, materials processing and factory infrastructure are flexible enough to accommodate technologies that may look quite different by the end of the decade.
The Canada-Korea Relationship Could Become More Important
Samsung SDI’s progress arrives while Canada is deliberately strengthening industrial ties with South Korea, one of the world’s major battery-producing economies. In January 2026, the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding focused on future mobility and broader industrial cooperation. Ottawa specifically identified battery production, battery-material processing, critical-mineral refining and recycling among the areas where it wants deeper cooperation. A separate June meeting reinforced critical-mineral and energy-supply-chain collaboration between the two countries.
That creates an obvious strategic opening, although there is currently no announced Samsung SDI solid-state cell factory in Canada. Samsung’s listed North American battery-production footprint is centred in the United States, including operations in Michigan and Indiana, while its Canadian connection includes its investment in Canada Nickel. The opportunity for Canada is therefore not something already secured. If solid-state technology moves successfully from pilot production toward vehicles, countries will compete for the mines, chemical processing, specialized materials, research talent and factories surrounding it. Canada already possesses important pieces of that chain. Samsung SDI’s 2027 target raises the pressure to make sure those pieces evolve as quickly as the batteries themselves.
