Challenge Asia! Auto giants will invest heavily in the European battery industry

Major carmakers are driving the development of Europe’s battery industry – with the first cell already being produced in the region’s leading Gigafactory, according to new analysis published today by CI Cenergi GUNE.

Northvolt, which is backed by Volkswagen and others, announced on December 29 that it had assembled the first battery cell at its Gigafactory in Sweden.

The cell has a prismatic format and was developed at the company’s industrial facility, Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, Sweden, where production has been underway since early 2020.

In addition, Northvolt is finalizing other agreements with major automotive OEMs, including with Volvo Cars to establish a joint battery manufacturing plant and R&D center in Gothenburg – the location of which was confirmed on February 4.

According to CIC, Northvolt "is expected to soon join Tesla's large-scale Gigafactory project in Berlin" - citing German reports that it will begin operations before the end of the first quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, CIC noted that Stellantis has “accelerated its plans” after announcing in July 2021 that it would start work on a third Gigafactory project in the southern Italian city of Termoli. The project would follow two such facilities under development in France and Germany.

Stellantis is working through the Automotive Cells Company (ACC), a joint venture with Saft battery owner Total Energies. Daimler's Mercedes-Benz is also a member of ACC.

According to relevant media reports, Spain, as "the second largest automobile manufacturer in the European Union, is one of the most innovative countries in recent months."

Volkswagen has announced its intention to build one of its six planned Gigafactories in Spain.

Separately, the “BasqueVolt” solid-state battery development project – a CIC project in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Basque capital in northern Spain – has been launched.

South Korean battery maker Eurocell announced on February 16 that it intends to enter the European market by building its first gigafactory in the region to produce advanced batteries in the UK, the Netherlands or Spain.

Eurocell says its technology for energy storage, vehicles and electric vehicles is “superior to conventional lithium-ion batteries” and that the batteries it develops in South Korea have a service life 10 times longer than conventional lithium-ion batteries, eliminating all “end-of-life” issues.

As these and other projects go ahead — and planned EU and national aid starts to benefit the industry in 2022 — Europe will “little by little” challenge the dominance of leading battery manufacturing regions such as Asia, the CIC said.

(Original source: Energy Storage Magazine Global New Energy Vehicle Network, New Energy Network Comprehensive)