Shares of Samsung SDI surged 8.1% to KRW 434,000 after the company locked up two-thirds of the battery supply in South Korea's first government-backed project to modernize power grids using AI-managed energy storage. The win lands at a pivotal moment: the battery maker is trying to return to profit after six consecutive quarterly losses, with operating losses last year exceeding 1.7 trillion won ($1.1 billion) . Investors are betting that dominance in energy storage can offset a still-struggling EV battery business.

  • Six of Nine Operators Picked Samsung SDI's Batteries — and That Matters for September

Samsung SDI batteries will be deployed across 21 of 32 distribution lines, totaling 84 MW of power capacity and 420 MWh of storage . LG Energy Solution captured just 22%, and SK On took 12% . This matters beyond the project itself: analysts view the auction as a precursor to the larger 3rd ESS Central Contract Market bid scheduled for September , where volumes — and revenues — will be substantially bigger. Industry insiders say Samsung SDI's track record of winning more than half the volume in previous government auctions created a "compounding effect" that keeps tilting future bids its way.

  • The Government Is Spending Big, but the Immediate Revenue Is Modest

Seoul is investing 558.6 billion won (~$372 million) over five years , starting with 128 MW in phase one. Samsung SDI's 66% slice of phase one is meaningful as a reference win but small relative to the company's global ambitions. Mirae Asset estimates total ESS shipments will grow from 12.1 GWh in 2025 to 20.3 GWh in 2026 and 35.4 GWh in 2027 , with the U.S. market — not Korea — driving most of that growth. The domestic win builds credibility; the profits come from scaling abroad.

  • ESS Is Carrying the Entire Turnaround Story

Market consensus expects Samsung SDI's operating losses to narrow to 66.1 billion won in Q2, then flip to a 20.2 billion won profit in Q3 and 151.2 billion won in Q4 . Management guided that ESS revenue should climb roughly 50% year-over-year, with U.S.-produced products benefiting from tax credits and lower tariff exposure . But the EV battery division — still weighed down by a global EV market growing only ~6% outside China — remains a drag.

  • The Stock Has Already Given Back Gains Once This Month Samsung SDI traded as high as KRW 467,500 on July 3 before sliding nearly 14% to KRW 401,500 by July 9. Today's pop reclaims some of that lost ground but leaves the stock well below the week's peak. The company projects the global ESS battery market will triple to roughly 1,232 GWh by 2035 — a massive runway, but investors will need patience while the turnaround takes hold.