Thai plans for 8 GWh lithium battery gigafab

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The 1 GWh, $143 million first phase of a planned 8 GWh lithium battery factory in Thailand is likely to be up and running during 2023, according to the partners behind it.

Florida-based e-mobility company Evlomo Inc and Japanese-Thai business park operator Rojana Industrial Park Public Co Ltd have announced plans to invest “up to $1.06 billion” into a joint venture to establish the gigagfab, with Rojana – itself a JV – set to invest in a 55% stake.

A press release issued by Evolomo about the plans, said groundbreaking on the first stage of the factory, in Nong Yai in the province of Chonburi, is expected to take place this year, with first-phase construction slated to require 18-24 months. That leaves open the slender possibility of production starting next year, although production lines are more likely to fire up in 2023.

Evlomo said the fab would produce batteries for two and four-wheeled vehicles, including buses and “heavy vehicles”, and would also manufacture, unspecified “energy storage solutions.”

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The U.S.-based e-mobility business said the gigafactory, to be sited in the Eastern Economic Corridor special economic zone which spans three provinces in eastern Thailand, would create more than 3,000 jobs.

“The investment will play the role of vitalizing the EV [electric vehicle] industry in Thailand,” said Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general from the eastern economic corridor office. “We look forward to Thailand becoming a global hub for [the] R&D, manufacturing and adoption of advanced energy storage and EV technologies in [the] entire South East Asia [region].

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