UK to see third battery gigafactory
A third UK battery gigafactory is set to be announced according to reports over the weekend.
The battery gigafactory in the West Midlands is reported to be backed by Chinese maker EVE Energy.
The plant has been in development for several years and has the backing of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and local government. However it has been lacking a lead high volume manufacturer despite detailed discussions with a number of Asian manufacturers.
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EVE Energy is said to be planning a 20GWh capacity initially with a £1.2bn investment, rising to 60GWh over time. However this is likely to rely on backing from the UK government, which will determine the scale and the timeframe.
The 40GWh gigafactory confirmed by Tata last year and to be built in Somerset is reported to have a backing of £500m, while the AESC Envision expansion at Nissan in Sunderland saw £450m of backing for the 35GWh plant.
The choice of EVE Energy gives some hints as to the potential customers. EVE has a deal with Daimler Trucks in the US< but also has a strategic deal with Rimac in Croatia which is expanding its engineering team in the UK. Rimac is the technology and battery lead for Volkswagen.
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Another key customer for EVE is StoreDot, which is moving to mass production of its XFC fast charging batteries. EVE Energy is an existing partner StoreDot and one of world’s 10 leading EV battery suppliers, expanding globally, with close ties to many of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers.
The company announced last week it will also license its technology to EVE and continue to pursue licensing agreements with other third parties. It is set to demonstrate the fast charging battery technology in Polestar electric vehicles.
- StoreDot to deliver B samples of fast charging battery cells
- StoreDot signs Chinese manufacturing partner
“We are delighted to announce this new chapter in EVE Energy’s relationship with StoreDot. Mass production of its extreme fast charging battery cells is the next step in the company’s hugely impressive trajectory, and we are delighted to utilize our global manufacturing expertise to help facilitate this. This is a highly significant partnership, and we are excited to be able to help deliver StoreDot’s proven XFC technology to leading electric vehicle manufacturers,” said Alexander Holden, Senior Vice President EVE Energy.
“This newly minted agreement with EVE Energy is a pivotal inflexion point for StoreDot. We now have the agreement for captive capacity, and it gives us the ability to implement our ambition for mass production of our extreme fast charging cell technologies. This will allow us to serve our customers who do not have their own manufacturing capability,” said Amir Tirosh, chief operating officer of StoreDot.
“I’m also pleased as this agreement fully cements our strong alliance with EVE Energy. We are already utilizing its world-beating manufacturing expertise in our R&D efforts. But this takes our collaboration to a new era, an era of StoreDot’s commercialization.”
www.evebattery.com; ukgigafactory.com; www.storedot.com
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