The global battery factory boom was supposed to follow a simple script: demand rises, factories get built, supply catches up. In early 2026, the reality is far messier. A single week in March set the story's terms, but April has added several new plot twists: Stellantis is exiting its stake in NextStar, Samsung SDI just extended a $1.05 billion loan to keep StarPlus Energy alive, and the UK handed Tata's Agratas gigafactory £380 million in government funding. The shakeout is deepening. In Windsor, Ontario, the Stellantis-LG Energy Solution joint venture NextStar Energy hit one million battery cells barely four months after launching production. Across the Atlantic, Automotive Cells Company (ACC) confirmed it halted two planned gigafactories in Italy and Germany. And now, in early April 2026, reports indicate Stellantis is moving to exit its NextStar stake entirely, leaving LG Energy Solution as sole owner. These aren't isolated events. They reflect a structural divide in how different regions and companies are approaching the enormous capital bets required to electrify transportation — and the fault lines are getting sharper. AI-generated image Modern battery gigafactories require billions in capital and years of construction before producing a single cell April 2026 Update This article has been updated with major April 2026 developments: Stellantis withdrawing from NextStar Energy (leaving LG sole owner), Samsung SDI's $1.05B loan to StarPlus Energy, the UK government's £380M investment in Tata's Agratas gigafactory, Northvolt Drei's partial building permit in Germany, and Stellantis' upcoming Investor Day on May 21 where further "portfolio rationalization" is expected. Canada's Big Moment Turned Into Stellantis's Exit NextStar Energy's 4.2-million-square-foot plant in Windsor, Ontario, reached a symbolic milestone in early March 2026: one million battery cells produced since commercial operations began in November 2025. The facility, backed by CA$5 billion in investment from Stellantis, LG Energy Solution, and Canadian government subsidies, employs 1,300 workers and holds ISO certification for both EV and energy storage cell production. The plant is Canada's first commercial-scale EV battery factory. It produces pouch-format cells using LG Energy Solution's chemistry and manufacturing know-how, feeding Stellantis assembly plants across North America. When fully ramped, the facility targets roughly 45 GWh of annual output, enough to supply batteries for approximately 600,000 electric vehicles per year. AI-generated image NextStar Energy's Windsor, Ontario facility is Canada's first commercial-scale EV battery plant The speed of the ramp matters. One million cells in roughly four months suggests NextStar's production lines are stabilizing faster than many skeptics predicted. But the factory's ownership picture shifted dramatically in April 2026, when reports emerged that Stellantis is withdrawing from the joint venture and transferring its stake to LG Energy Solution. LG would then own the facility outright. The logic is Stellantis's: after recording $26.5 billion in EV-related writedowns in its most recent financial disclosures, the automaker is shedding capital-intensive battery investments and refocusing on vehicle assembly and software. For LG Energy Solution, taking sole control of a functioning Canadian factory with government backing is likely attractive. The facility's production targets, employees, and ISO certifications remain unchanged by the ownership shift — the cells still go into Stellantis vehicles under supply agreements. But it signals a clear pivot away from the vertically integrated model that dominated automaker battery strategy from 2020 to 2024. NextStar Energy: Updated Facts (April 2026) Ownership (as of April 2026): LG Energy Solution (sole owner, pending close) Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada Investment: CA$5 billion Facility Size: 4.2 million sq ft Employees: 1,300 direct (target: 2,500) Production Start: November 2025 Milestone: 1 million cells (March 2026) Target Capacity: ~45 GWh/year at full ramp ACC Pulls the Plug on Italy and Germany While Canada's plant keeps running, Europe's battery manufacturing ambitions continue to erode. Automotive Cells Company, a joint venture between Stellantis, TotalEnergies, and Mercedes-Benz, confirmed in March 2026 that it has definitively halted planned 8 GWh gigafactories in both Italy and Germany. The company will instead focus its resources on expanding its existing French plant in Billy-Berclau/Douvrin, which is being scaled toward 28 GWh of capacity. ACC's retreat follows a string of setbacks. The company paused construction at the Italian and German sites in mid-2025, citing "market conditions" and the need to pivot from NMC chemistry to LFP cells, which Chinese manufacturers produce at dramatically lower cost. That pivot requires entirely different production equipment, effectively invalidating much of ACC's original investment in manufacturing tooling. The underlying problem is straightforward: European battery makers cannot compete on cost with Chinese producers. CATL, BYD, and a dozen second-tier Chinese manufacturers have spent over a decade optimizing LFP cell production. They benefit from lower labor costs, massive government subsidies, cheap electricity, and deeply integrated domestic supply chains for cathode and anode materials. A European startup trying to replicate that cost structure from scratch faces enormous headwinds. ACC's French facility remains operational but faces its own challenges. Output has been below targets, and the company has cycled through leadership changes. In April 2026, France Batterie — a government-backed initiative launched in March — is now the umbrella under which the Billy-Berclau facility is expected to eventually reach 100-120 GWh by 2030, but the halted Italy and Germany plants leave the "European battery valley" vision short of its original scope. AI-generated image ACC's decision to halt two gigafactories reflects deeper cost challenges facing European battery manufacturers Stellantis Reconsiders Its Battery Strategy: StarPlus Gets a Lifeline Stellantis is also reconsidering its stake in StarPlus Energy, its separate battery joint venture with Samsung SDI in Kokomo, Indiana. But unlike the NextStar exit, the StarPlus situation comes with new capital. In early April 2026, Samsung SDI extended a $1.05 billion loan to the joint venture to support continued development amid slower-than-expected EV demand. The Kokomo plant is now pivoting toward energy storage systems (ESS), with LFP battery production targeting a start in the second half of 2026. The pivot to ESS is telling. Samsung SDI's willingness to inject a billion dollars in debt rather than equity suggests confidence that the factory can find customers in grid storage even if EV volumes disappoint. Utility-scale battery storage contracts tend to have longer, more predictable timelines than automaker purchase orders, which can be revised or cancelled with shorter notice. The Indiana facility is also exploring whether some of its floor space could support data center cooling and power backup equipment — an area where Samsung has separate expertise. The Stellantis Battery Divestiture Pattern Stellantis is simultaneously untangling three major battery ventures with very different trajectories: • NextStar Energy (with LG): Stellantis exiting; LG taking sole ownership. Factory producing cells in Windsor. • ACC (with TotalEnergies + Mercedes): Two plants halted; French facility scaling under France Batterie umbrella. • StarPlus Energy (with Samsung SDI): $1.05B Samsung loan injected in April; pivoting to ESS and LFP; EV ramp pushed to H2 2026. Stellantis's Investor Day on May 21, 2026 is expected to include further "portfolio rationalization" announcements. European plant utilization is running at roughly 46%, and several assembly sites are already under review. The