A pair of Swedish electro-mobility giants, automaker Volvo Cars and battery company Northvolt, have partnered to build a new battery manufacturing plant with a proposed annual production capacity of up to 50GWh.
Volvo Cars and Northvolt announced on Friday that they would build a new SEK 30 billion ($A4.6 billion) battery manufacturing plant in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.
Designed with a potential annual cell production capacity of up to 50GWh, enough battery capacity to supply approximately half a million cars annually, the new battery gigafactory would employ up to 3,000 jobs and complement the planned research & development centre which the two companies confirmed in December.
Both the gigafactory and R&D facility were originally touted by the companies back in June 2021, when they announced plans to form a joint venture R&D and gigafactory.
At the time, the research & development facility was presumed to start operating in 2022, which the two companies confirmed would be the case in December.
Expected to create several hundred jobs in Gothenberg as well as positions at Volvo Cars, the facility will ensure that Volvo Cars becomes one of the few automakers to make battery cell development and production part of its own end-to-end engineering capabilities.
Construction of the 50GWh battery gigafactory will follow the R&D facility, with construction currently expected to start in 2023.
The gigafactory will produce what the two companies claim are “state-of-the-art” battery cells which will be developed specifically for use in next generation pure electric Volvo and Polestar vehicles.
The new gigafactory will be powered entirely by fossil-free energy and will focus on driving renewable energy capacity in the region surrounding Gothenburg.
“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.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.