Automaker Volvo and battery developer Northvolt have selected Gothenburg, Sweden as the location of their new battery plant in a bid to ramp up the electrification of their production lines.
Volvo. Credit: Erik Mclean / Pexels (Licence: CC0)
Volvo has made plans to go all-electric by 2030 and the new gigafactory should help it meet its goals. Credit: Erik Mclean / Pexels (Licence: CC0)
The gigafactory, which is set to start producing cars in 2025, reportedly cost around SEK 30 billion (€2.87 billion), will include an R&D centre to allow for the companies to continue brainstorming and testing new battery tech and should provide the means for Volvo to fo all-electric by 2030.
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Construction is set to start in 2023. Once up and running the plant should have an annual battery cell capacity of around 50 GWh - supplying cells for around half a million cars per year.
The location will also allow the automaker to have direct access from the factory to its largest car plant, located in Ghent, Belgium.
Producing the batteries for the new EVs in-house will help Volvo eliminate a large number of carbon emissions over the vehicle's lifecycle. It also hopes that working alongside Northvolt, who are experts in sustainable battery development, will also provide insights into how further reductions can be met.
“Our new battery plant will support our ambition to have a fully climate-neutral manufacturing network and secure a supply of high-quality batteries for years to come,” said Javier Varela, Head of Engineering and Operations at Volvo Cars.
“Through our partnership with Northvolt, we will also benefit greatly from an end-to-end battery value chain, from raw material to complete car, ensuring optimal integration in our cars.", he added.
The plant stands to be one of the largest battery production plants in Europe and will help the automaker reduce reliance on battery and semiconductor supply chains from East Asia, which have faced heavy disruption due to the coronavirus pandemic and the chip shortage.
The battery production was formed as a joint venture between the two, and they recently hired ex-Tesla executive Adrian Clarke to lead the new production firm.
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The new R&D centre, which will operate alongside the plant, is set to open its doors later this year and could create hundreds of new engineering jobs, while large scale recruitment will commence in 2023.
"Establishing this gigafactory in Gothenburg is a decisive move to transform one of the most dynamic automotive regions in the world", Peter Carlsson, Co-Founder and CEO of Northvolt, said in a statement.
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