Image source: SVOLT
A Chinese battery manufacturer and spin off from Great Wall Motor Company, the country's largest sport utility vehicle maker, has begun planning its first overseas venture; a manufacturing hub in Europe.
SVOLT Energy Technology, which became independent of Great Wall in 2018, also said that there had been "good progress" in the development of a cobalt-free lithium-ion battery. This has been a long term goal of battery producers who are looking to eliminate the expensive and increasingly scarce raw mineral.
The SVOLT facility will be located in an as-yet-undecided country and will feature a research centre and factory making battery materials, modules and cells, according to general manager Yang Hongxin. Investment will be at around €2bn.
Around €130m of the €2bn figure will come from the next fundraising round later this year. More funds will be raised to support the construction effort, which is set to begin in the second half of 2020 with first production being in 2022.
The factory's initial 20 GWh production capacity will raise to around 24 GWh by 2025.
According to senior SVOLT official Cao Fubiao, the first customer will most likely be Great Wall but the company was also in talks with "German and French car makers", declining to divulge any further information.
The proposed European plant would add to SVOLT's facility in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. The Chinese factory will have an initial 12 GWh capacity, which will eventually exceed 70 GWh.
"We plan to have five production bases worldwide, including in the United States, but it will take time," said general manager Mr Yang at an event in the Chinese city of Baoding. "The global plan is to reach a capacity of 100 GWh by 2025."
The move by SVOLT comes at a time when Asian battery makers and European carmakers are deepening cooperation. However, limited means of battery manufacture in Europe have led to concerns of over-reliance on Asian manufacturers.
The Chinese battery firm Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) is building a 14 GWh factory in Germany and is to supply BMW with batteries.
BMW, for its part, has signed a deal with Great Wall to build electric minis in China.
South Korea's SK Innovation has built a battery factory in Hungary.
Swedish car firm Volvo has signed a multibillion dollar deal with CATL and LG Chem for a battery supply until 2028.
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