Author name: Gerrit Bockey

Skeleton Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of energy storage solutions, announced its expansion into France at a business summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Over five years, the company plans to invest €600 million in research and development and the production of “SuperBatteries.” “Skeleton will commence research and development of next-generation battery technologies later this year in Toulouse, in the southwest of France,” the company announced. “A mass production facility for ‘SuperBatteries’ is scheduled to be operational by 2027.” Founded in 2009 in Tartu, Skeleton Technologies opened its first facility in Germany, near Dresden, seven years ago. The company’s mass production facility for supercapacitors is currently under construction in Leipzig. Skeleton employs over 130 staff at its headquarters and development center in Tallinn. “We are the first Estonian industrial company to expand into two of Europe’s most important industrial nations, Germany and France. Undoubtedly, this is a milestone for us, paving the way for other Estonian green technology companies,” said Taavi Madiberk, CEO and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies. Source: https://news.err.ee/1609341672/skeleton-technologies-to-establish-superbattery-production-plant-in-france

Toyota plans to commence electric vehicle (EV) battery production at its new facility in North Carolina next year. The facility will manufacture battery packs for the company’s hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and EV vehicles. Toyota’s investments in the facility total $13.9 billion and significant progress has been made since construction began at the end of 2022. Sean Suggs, President of Toyota Battery Manufacturing in North Carolina, announced that battery production for EVs is slated to begin in the first quarter of next year. The initial batteries will be destined for an electric vehicle manufactured at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant. Suggs reports positively on the current state of developments at the facility, highlighting the intensive testing phase involving around 300 team members on-site daily, with an additional 500 employees working at the main headquarters in Greensboro. Upon completion in 2028, the facility is expected to employ 5,100 people. The North Carolina facility’s production capacity is expected to reach 30 gigawatt-hours of batteries per year, distributed across seven buildings, each housing two production lines. Overall, the facility will encompass ten production lines for future battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid battery packs, and four lines for producing battery packs for hybrid cars. Source: https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/toyotas-139-billion-nc-battery-complex-juiced-production

By opening its 6,800-square-meter “PreFab” in Münster, Germany, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has officially put the “Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB” into operation.

California-based company Statevolt plans to manufacture solid-state battery cells at a new 3.2-billion dollar gigafactory in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the end of 2026.