Battery Production

Toyota Motor and LG Energy Solution have signed an agreement to supply lithium-ion batteries to be used in the Japanese automaker’s U.S.-built electric vehicles starting in 2025. LG Energy Solution (LGES) will invest $3 billion in its battery plant in Holland, Michigan, to supply Toyota’s Kentucky plant with battery cells from the awarded production lines. LGES will supply Toyota with 20 gigawatt hours of high-nickel NCMA battery cells and modules annually from the Michigan plant. The modules will be assembled into battery packs by Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky, and installed in new electric vehicles. The agreement with Toyota means LGES will now supply five leading automakers, including Stellantis, Hyundai and Honda, with batteries from its eight jointly owned and operated North American plants. In August 2022, Toyota announced it would triple its investment in a new battery plant in North Carolina, which it will operate with longtime partner Panasonic as part of the Prime Planet Energy & Solutions joint venture, to $3.8 billion. The plant is expected to be operational in 2025. Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-lg-energy-sign-battery-supply-agreement-power-evs-2023-10-04/

NOVO Energy, a joint venture between Nortvolt and Volvo Cars, has received approval from the Swedish Land and Environment Court to build its battery gigafactory next to the Volvo Cars plant in Torslanda, Gothenburg. The new battery gigafactory in Gothenburg is expected to have an annual cell production capacity of up to 50-gigawatt hours when completed. Production is scheduled for 2026. Official construction work on site will begin Oct. 1. The city of Gothenburg is already implementing projects related to the gigafactory, which are being coordinated by the Gothenburg Economic Region. Treated wastewater will be used to cool the plant, and two large one-meter diameter pipes are currently being laid to transport water from the regional wastewater treatment plant to the Gigafactory. Gothenburg Energi and Vattenfall are building a power plant north of the site to connect the Gigafactory to the region’s 130 kV power grid. In addition, preparatory work is underway, including connecting the site to the district heating, water, stormwater and wastewater systems. The city of Gothenburg is planning to establish a training center for electromobility and battery production in Lindholmen. Employees, schoolchildren, adults, and vocational students will be trained there in modern learning environments. The city of Gothenburg and the Västra Götaland region are each investing around four million euros in the training center, which will open in the fall of 2024. Source: https://news.cision.com/business-region-goteborg/r/volvo-cars-and-northvolt-break-ground-on-gothenburg-gigafactory,c3844215

Swedish cell producer Northvolt is planning to build its North American cell production plant in Quebec, Canada. According to information from ‘The Globe and Mail’, the project is expected to be realized in Saint-Basile-le-Grand in the Richelieu Valley, and the estimated cost of the factory is around 7 billion US dollars. Québec is striving to establish itself as a leading center for electric vehicle battery development, attracting companies with its environmentally friendly hydroelectric potential as well as financial support from the federal government. Prime Minister François Legault and his cabinet colleagues see these efforts as the beginning of a new industrial revolution. The planned investments are on a scale not seen in the province since Hydro Québec’s major projects in the 1950s and 1960s. Québec bid to locate the plant as Canada seeks to compete with the U.S. cleantech industry, which received a boost last year from incentives under President Biden’s ‘Inflation Reduction Act.’ The Ottawa and provincial governments have allocated billions in public funds to encourage battery manufacturers and suppliers to set up production facilities in Quebec and Ontario Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-swedens-northvolt-picks-quebec-for-new-multi-billion-dollar-ev-battery/

The BMW Group gets the green light to build a high-voltage battery assembly plant in Straßkirchen. In a referendum, over 75 percent of residents favored the project. In the future, this new site will supply the Bavarian vehicle plants in Dingolfing, Regensburg, and Munich with high-voltage batteries for electric vehicles. The next step in the plant’s construction is already scheduled for October. The local urban land use planning department will hold its second public consultation, which will also include numerous expert reports commissioned by the BMW Group on the effects of locating the plant. After completing the first construction phase, the BMW Group plans to employ around 1,600 people at this future production site. Around 70 percent of them will come from existing BMW locations and will contribute their expertise to the development of the new site. In addition, the BMW Group plans to offer around 50 apprenticeships in cooperation with the Dingolfing plant at the planned location. Source: https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0437196EN/yes-to-bmw:-strasskirchen-residents-cast-clear-vote-for-new-high-voltage-battery-assembly-site

Tesla has developed extensive plans to manufacture and sell battery storage systems in India and has submitted a proposal to authorities to discuss possible incentives.

Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion High-tech and Slovakian battery start-up InoBat will jointly build a battery factory for electric vehicles in Europe with an initial capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours by 2026.

The first automated production line for battery packs at Gotion High-tech’s German facility in Göttingen was officially commissioned. The planned production capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours will be completed in four phases. By mid-2024, the actual production capacity is expected to reach five gigawatt-hours. Once fully operational, annual production value is expected to reach two billion euros.

French battery start-up Verkor secures over €2 billion to build its gigafactory in Dunkirk. The funding is made up of €850 million in capital increases from investors, which a French government source described as the largest capital raise ever for a French technology startup. In addition, 600 million euros will flow as a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and 650 million euros in government subsidies, pending approval. After the capital increase, Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie and its French counterpart Meridiam will become Verkor’s two main shareholders. This capital increase also attracts new investors, including the Fonds Strategique de Participations (FSP), a grouping of seven French insurance companies that hold stakes in innovative industrial companies, and the maritime transport group CMA CGM, in addition to existing shareholders such as Renault and Bpifrance. Verkor’s gigafactory is expected to create 1,200 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs and begin production in mid-2025. It will have an initial production capacity of 16 gigawatt-hours per year, of which 12 gigawatt-hours are reserved for Renault. Renault’s share, an early supporter of Verkor, will be reduced from 24 percent to 10 percent in this new phase. The French automaker is expected to retain a seat on the board of directors, a source close to Renault said. Source: https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/RENAULT-4688/news/Verkor-raises-2-bln-euros-for-Dunkirk-EV-gigafactory-44839261/

Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion plans to build a new $2 billion lithium battery factory in Manteno, Illinois. The factory will focus on the production of lithium-ion battery cells, battery packs, and the integration of energy storage systems. Located on an approximately 150-acre site, the facility will produce ten-gigawatt hours of lithium-ion battery packs and 40 gigawatt hours of lithium-ion battery cells per year when completed. The plant is scheduled to begin operations in 2024 and is expected to create 2,600 jobs. The state’s incentive package for Gotion, known as “REV” (Reimagining Energy and Vehicles), “Invest in Illinois” and other incentives totals $536 million. Under REV, Gotion will receive tax benefits totaling $213 million over a 30-year period. The agreement requires Gotion to make a minimum investment of $1.9 billion and create 2,600 full-time jobs paying at least 120% of the average wage of comparable jobs in Kankakee County. In addition, Gotion was approved by local officials for a 30-year property tax exemption. Source: https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.26993.html

Rimac Technology, a provider of high-performance automotive technology solutions, has partnered with EVE Energy. The Chinese company is pioneer of the 46xx cylindrical cell format.