The group plans to help provide funding for battery R&D, while promoting the industrial implementation of such technologies. Their joint research activities are scheduled to begin early next year.
“The joint research activities of the European Battery Union will cover the entire battery value stream – from raw materials through cell technology to recycling,” the companies said in an online statement. “The prime objective is to accumulate much broader know-how on battery cell production.”
Undisclosed industrial and academic stakeholders across seven EU member states plan to participate in the EBU. Their research will focus on the production of raw materials, cell technology, production processes and recycling. They will also look at ways to develop competitive but environmentally sustainable plant technologies within the EU. Their efforts may be eligible for funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Popular content
The announcement follows plans that were revealed by European economic officials in December to turn the continent into an industrial hub for large-scale battery cell production. It also follows plans by a number of foreign companies to establish production facilities in Europe. Last July, for example, Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) signalled plans to invest €240 million in a new battery cell fab in Thüringen, Germany, by 2022. CATL aims to use the facility to supply electric-vehicle batteries to BMW, as part of a €4 billion, long-term partnership.
Last May, Germany’s Siemens said it would invest €10 million in a 32 GWh lithium-ion battery cell production factory that Northvolt plans to build in the Swedish municipality of Skelleftea. They two companies aim to launch production next year. Separately, Northvolt announced plans in October to open a battery factory in Gdansk, Poland, at some point this year.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
1 comment
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.