Page 23 - Energize March 2021

NEWS

Stationary battery market boosted by VW order

ccording to a report by Energy strong outlook on the European energy storage market, to which we will be delivering significant
Storage News, a spokesman for volumes in the form of battery modules and packs”.
ANorthvolt says the Volkswagen “In view of Northvolt’s recent supply order from Volkswagen, Northvolt Ett gigafactory will be
order, worth US$14-billion, will have a significantly expanded beyond the 40 GWh capacity we were targeting,” Wigardt said.
“significant” impact on the stationary energy “To be distributed across several gigafactories, we’re aiming for 150 GWh annual cell
storage market. production in 2030 and we expect roughly 20% of those cell volumes to be committed to Northvolt
Germany-headquartered Volkswagen Systems, with the majority of that directed to grid solutions.”
(VW) has partnered with Northvolt since 2019, Northvolt claims that, including the recent order, it now has $27-billion worth of contracts
when a member of the auto company’s board from key customers. It has raised investments of more than $3,5-billion, most recently closing a
said that VW was “laying the groundwork” $600-million private placement of equity financing.
for its electrification strategy and, together Financial analysis group Mercom Capital is quoted as saying that this makes Northvolt the
with BMW Group and other parties, became biggest recipient of venture capital funding in the entire global battery storage sector during 2020.
an equity investor in the firm. Together with the large volumes of battery cells and packs it intends to supply, the company,
Northvolt says it is a strategic lead which was started by former Tesla executive Peter Carlsson, has a facility building and
supplier to Volkswagen for premium integrating energy storage systems in Poland which will have an initial production capacity for 5
battery cells in Europe with the massive GWh of systems annually when it fully opens in 2022.
new deal, which will run for ten years. The While VW will seek to build its own European supply chain at sites including Saltzgitter,
battery maker is building a gigafactory in Northvolt said that consolidating cell production at the Northvolt Ett site in Skellefteå, northern
Sweden, called Northvolt Ett, from which it Sweden, will allow the manufacturer and its partners to achieve better economies of scale.
plans to produce Li-ion batteries with a low “By expanding manufacturing capacity at Northvolt Ett we will leverage economies of scale
carbon footprint. to drive down the cost of cells and battery solutions further – this will have an impact on all
It is also planning a production facility customer segments,” Wigardt said.
capable of producing 16 GWh cell capacity “The expansion also means that more new cells will benefit from on-site recycling at Northvolt
annually in Saltzgitter, Germany, as a joint Ett, and we’ll be bringing to market more cells produced using one of the cleanest energy grids in
venture (JV) with VW. the world.”
While the deal is primarily likely to Production is scheduled to begin at the Northvolt Ett gigafactory later this year, and the
impact the electric vehicle (EV) sector, company aims to double its employee headcount during 2022 and invest in “new capacities
Northvolt spokesperson and VP of across our organisation,” the vice president of communication and public affairs at Northvolt
communications and public affairs Jesper said, with the VW deal putting the company on a financial footing for the future that he described
Wigardt says the company has a “very as “robust”. n

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