Northvolt has kept its promise to produce its first lithium-ion battery in 2021 on the wire. The company has announcement on December 29, having kept the commitment made in June, not without a certain emphasis, praising the opening of a ” new chapter in European industrial history “.
A sovereignty issue for Europe
It was in the freezing cold on the edge of the Arctic Circle in Skellefteå, in the north of Sweden, that the factory, the size of 71 Northvolt football pitches, was set in motion. There, two Tesla alumni, Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerruti and their 500 employees of 56 different nationalities, design, develop and assemble lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry.
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The concentration of all these activities in Europe is a first. Since the old continent has set itself the goal of abandoning the thermal car by 2035, the presence of gigafactory on European soil has become a sovereign issue. The echoes recall that batteries represent 40% of the value of an electric vehicle and that, until now, they were mainly imported from Asia.
Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerruti knew how to feel the trend coming by announcing the first gigafactory of their company Northvolt in 2017. They were able to count on the support of Goldman Sachs, Volkswagen, but also of the European Investment Bank of the Swedish Agency energy and Germany, to raise 6 billion euros.
The Gigafactory must now ramp up. Peter Carlsson, CEO of Northvolt, in addition to being the co-founder, said, “ Of course, this first drumkit is just the start. Over the next few years, we hope that Northvolt Ett will significantly increase its production capacity to enable the European transition to clean energy. “.
In 2022, Northvolt plans to produce the equivalent of 16 GWh, enough to equip 300,000 vehicles per year. Its production capacity must reach at least 60 GWh per year in the following years. The batteries have already found their customers. BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and others have ordered the equivalent of $ 30 billion in contracts.
Northvolt, a model a little too followed?
A pioneer, Northvolt has become an example to follow in Europe. In France three projects are under development. A gigafactory of the Chinese company Automotive Cell Company, supported by PSA, Stellantis, Mercedes and Total is due to release its first battery in 2023. Renault has planned to bring two other gigafactory out of the ground.
According to The echoes, the profusion of projects similar to Northvolt could end up being negative. According to the NGO Transport & Environnement, 38 gigafactory are being studied in Europe. The continent, after having shunned the sector, could fall into the opposite trap, that of overproduction.