The Swedish firm Northvolt announced that it had assembled its first electric battery cell last night. Its gigafactory could overshadow Tesla and Asian lithium-ion battery producers.
A new chapter in the history of European industry has just opened. Swedish company Northvolt announced in a press release on Tuesday that it had completed the design, development and assembly of a battery cell, the first of its kind to be produced in a European giga-factory. When it runs at full capacity, the site should be able to produce batteries that can power a million electric vehicles each year.
A gigafactory which gives credit to the idea of a “European battery”
With a view to competing with Tesla and its German gigafactory as well as producers based in Asia, the news of the start of activity at the Northvolt site will give some hope to Europe, which is lagging behind in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.
The Swedish giga-factory, based in Skellefteå, in the northeast of the country, was put into operation overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday with the assembly of its first electric battery cell. ” The cell is the first to be completely designed, developed and assembled by a battery company based in Europe “, Logically welcomes the company.
The announcement of this gigantic factory, made in 2017 and posted just 200 kilometers from the Arctic Circle (an area rich in resources facilitating the production of renewable electricity), has now become a reality. The commissioning of the latter will be done gradually in the coming weeks and in 2022, when it will make its first commercial deliveries.
Already $ 30 billion in contracts signed
The goal is simple for Northvolt: thanks to its insane production capacity – up to 60 gigawatt hours / year (GWh / year) – it will be able to equip a million electric vehicles each year. Initially, at least during the first two years, its capacity will be limited to 16 GWh and production large enough to produce batteries for 300,000 vehicles. And the company can boast of having already signed contracts worth $ 30 billion, which will ensure its sustainability for many years to come.
Northvolt thus received orders from BMW, Scania, Vokskwagen, Fluence, Volvo Cars and Polestar. Besides the automobile, the gigafactory will also supply the industrial and energy storage sectors. The factory already employs a little over 500 people of 56 different nationalities, spread over around 100 hectares. It should accommodate 2,500 more in the coming years.
The Swedish company, which has managed to raise several billion euros and counts BMW, Goldman Sachs and Volkswagen among its shareholders, is already promising to build a second huge plant in Europe, this time in partnership with the car manufacturer Volvo. The European lithium-ion battery could have a bright future ahead of it.
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Source: press release
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