Northvolt proclaims third European gigafactory web site for ‘sustainably produced’ batteries

Shut-up element of a BESS assembled by Northvolt Programs, for a web site in Rocklunda, Sweden. Picture: Northvolt.

European battery manufacturing startup Northvolt intends to construct its third gigafactory on the continent in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. 

The manufacturing facility, Northvolt Drei, may have an annual manufacturing capability of 60GWh and Northvolt has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the north German state and the Schleswig-Holstein city of Heide, it introduced this morning. 

The lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant will open earlier than the tip of 2025, using 3,000 individuals when absolutely ramped.

Northvolt claimed the area provides alternatives to make batteries sustainably: there may be loads of onshore and offshore wind technology close by, in addition to interconnectors to herald renewable vitality from Denmark and Norway. It’s an strategy to siting the producer has taken with its flagship manufacturing amenities in Sweden, the place the share of renewable vitality from wind and hydro can be very excessive.

The corporate has dedicated to sourcing 50% of its uncooked supplies from recycled batteries by 2030 and claimed lots of the uncooked supplies used at Northvolt Drei shall be sourced from recycled battery metals. Northvolt’s first recycling plant in Sweden made its first battery cell with absolutely recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt late final 12 months.

A recycling plant on-site can be being deliberate at Heide to take batteries straight from EVs in addition to having the ability to reuse byproducts from the manufacturing course of. With Ascend Parts just lately signing a deal to recycle battery scrap from SK’s two Georgia, US, battery factories, the indicators are that battery recycling can embody a complete worth chain strategy. 

Based in 2016, Northvolt has secured greater than US$50 billion in orders for batteries from the 170GWh it presently has in its improvement pipeline. It is usually growing a US$750 million R&D centre in Sweden. 

Its first gigafactory, Northvolt Ett in Skeleftea, Sweden, produced its first cells shortly earlier than the tip of 2021 and the corporate raised US$2.7 billion in funding final 12 months alone, rating it high amongst enterprise capital (VC) funding recipients within the battery storage sector in line with evaluation group Mercom Capital.

It had beforehand deliberate to construct a battery plant in Germany in partnership with Volkswagen, a 16GWh facility in Saltzgitter, however Northvolt offered its share within the three way partnership (JV) to the automaker, which can be considered one of its larger clients. 

Final month Northvolt purchased one other web site in Sweden to host a 100GWh cathode supplies manufacturing facility.

Whereas the vast majority of Northvolt’s buyer partnerships are within the automotive sector, the corporate has signed offtake offers with stationary storage clients together with Fluence, with which Northvolt is co-developing battery vitality storage programs (BESS) options.

US$200m manufacturing facility for stationary storage division Northvolt Programs

It has additionally established its personal stationary storage division, Northvolt Programs, and is constructing a BESS meeting plant in Gdansk, Poland.

It was not clear from Northvolt’s announcement at present whether or not Northvolt Drei shall be centered completely on batteries for EVs and the corporate had not but responded to an enquiry from Power-Storage.information on the time of publication. 

Though 15 years in the past many had tipped Europe to change into a number one manufacturing centre for photo voltaic PV, it misplaced the chance, Northvolt Programs president Emad Zand wrote in an article for the latest version of our quarterly journal PV Tech Energy Vol.30. 

The continent might change into a number one international provider of battery storage, Zand wrote, however must embrace the alternatives of this new trade. Northvolt will make investments US$200 million into constructing the BESS manufacturing facility in Poland, in line with Zand’s article. 

“Batteries are quickly changing into a cornerstone expertise of vitality, mobility and societal performing at giant. For Europe to transition successfully to internet zero, it requires battery programs of its personal. However the alternative is far higher. We missed our probability with photo voltaic PV, let’s not make the identical mistake with batteries,” Zand wrote.  

Northvolt has beforehand urged that round a fifth of its batteries might discover their means into BESS tasks. 

Benchmark Minerals has forecasted that Europe will attain 789.2GWh of lithium-ion battery gigafactory manufacturing capability by 2030. It’s presently far forward of the US in its manufacturing ambitions, however steps are being taken by each private and non-private entities within the US to begin catching up.