First big step in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars in Europe. The Swedes from Northvolt have produced the first battery, of their own design and conception. An important step forward that will reduce dependence on Asian suppliers for manufacturers of zero-emission models of European brands.
The semiconductor crisis has highlighted the great problem of European brands, as regards the forced dependence on certain components that come from Asia. And more especially from China, producing bottlenecks that put the production of cars, be they electric, hybrid or combustion, to the limit. In the case of zero emissions, batteries have also become a problem and may be in the future.
For this reason, the Swedes from Northvolt have set to work to design high-tech batteries for electric cars, supplying this component to the main European manufacturers, including Volkswagen, the BMW group, Fluence, Scania, Polestar and Volvo. . In fact, Last night, the first battery cell manufactured in Europe rolled off the company’s production lines. Without a doubt, an important milestone that will reduce dependency on Asian suppliers such as Samsung SDI, CATL and LG Energy Solutions
Northvolt is the first battery manufacturer on European soil
Three of the most important providers today, so a new chapter is opened and a new horizon almost five years after he announced the founding of Northvolt Ett, and the construction of a macro-factory in Skellefteå, in northern Sweden. A dream come true, even though the actual commissioning of the factory will not take place until 2022. Still, those in charge hope that the completion of the conditioning works will not be delayed for long, and neither will deliveries to customers.
The first cell, which has the great virtue that it can be conceived in different formats, is of the prismatic type and has been developed at the facilities of Northvolt Labs, Västerås. Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, said: “Today is a huge milestone for Northvolt and the team has worked very hard to achieve it. Of course, this first cell is just the beginning. Over the course of the next few years, we expect Northvolt Ett to expand its production capacity greatly to enable Europe’s transition to clean energy. ‘
The provider has set the ambitious goal of manufacture batteries with an annual capacity of up to 60 Gwh around 2030, although this figure will not be from the official start of production. Between 2022 and 2024, the maximum capacity will reach 16 Gwh, a figure that will be increased successively. The complex may design the batteries according to the technical requirements of each of the partners involved in the project, and that they collaborate with a significant investment. In fact, it is the Germans from Volkswagen who have contributed the most to make this new factory a reality, with nothing less than 900 million Euros released in 2019, also securing a joint facility in Lower Saxony, near the Wolfsburg headquarters, which will operate by 2030.