Europe first Gigafactory started mass production of batteries

Europe is accelerating infrastructure in electromobility as the first Gigafactory starts mass production of batteries while electric cars are gaining more and more momentum and their sales in Europe.

As reported in a report by the Guardian newspaper, Swedish start-up Northvolt built its first lithium-ion batteries for electric cars in a new factory located in the north of the Scandinavian country.

This plant is the first of many planned to be built in Europe, with the aim of gradually becoming independent of China, South Korea and Japan, which dominate the production of batteries for electric cars.

Read more: Europe lags behind on fast chargers of electric vehicles

The Northvolt plant belongs to the category of so-called “giant factories” that will have very large production capabilities. This plant is expected to produce annually a number of batteries capable of storing energy of the order of 15 gigawatt-hours, with the aim of quickly reaching 60 gigawatt-hours per year, which means that the battery needs for about 1 million euros can be met. electric cars.

Northvolt executives estimate that from the beginning of 2022 they will be able to supply the market with batteries. The company has already signed $30 billion in contracts with major European automakers such as BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and Scania.

The construction of another 25 giant battery factories for electric cars in Europe has been announced by the end of 2030 but nine of them will be owned by Asian companies.

[via]