lithium-ion battery manufacturing

Just weeks after announcing its intent to build a AUD 300 million ($210 million) lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Australia, Recharge Industries has reportedly joined a host of other bidders considering the revival of collapsed UK battery company Britishvolt. Investment could also revive plans to construct a battery cell gigafactory in northern England.

The European Commission has published its second annual assessment of the competitiveness of the EU’s renewable energy technology industries, and it had a warning for policymakers about the trade balance trend being experienced by heat pump makers.

The move has been welcomed as a step in the right direction by lobby group SolarPower Europe nevertheless, particularly as it envisages bringing together EU low-carbon businesses. The outline ambition will now be considered by the European Parliament.

A joint venture with Japanese peers Toshiba and Denso will make the investment in the Gujarat plant over the 2021-25 period, having pumped $174 million into the first phase of development.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending €250 million for a project which has expanded from producing an initial 100,000 EV batteries per year to an hoped-for 1 million by 2022, creating 1,000 new jobs along the way.

The German battery manufacturer will make products for electric trucks and buses at the facility, which is expected to employ 200 workers and produce 400 megawatt-hours of batteries annually.