Photo: Volvo/Northvolt
Volvo is pretty serious about selling only electric cars by 2030. To achieve that, the Swedish automaker knows it will need plenty of batteries, and it will do that with Northvolt. Both companies announced today that they will have a factory ready to deliver 50 GWh per year in Gothenburg by 2025.
The construction of the new plant will begin in 2023 and will employ around 3,000 when it is at full capacity. This 50-GWh-per-year production capacity will be enough to build half a million EVs. Just to give you the right idea about what that represents, Volvo disclosed that it sold 698,693 worldwide in 2021.
According to Volvo, the company will produce “state-of-the-art battery cells, specifically developed for use in next-generation pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.” Considering deliveries will only start in 2025, that certainly does not refer to the Volvo Embla or the Polestar 3, which should be presented in 2022. Even the future Polestar vehicles will not use it since the last Polestar announced, the 5, will hit production lines in 2024.
The two companies stressed that the factory would only use fossil-free energy in an effort to promote clean energy in the region. They also mentioned that Adrian Clarke, a former Tesla executive, would run the battery joint venture. He was involved with the Tesla GIgafactory in Reno, the Hornsdale Big Battery in Australia, and finally was the head of Giga Grünheide in Germany until very recently.
Apart from the new factory, Volvo and Northvolt also announced that their joint R&D (research and development) center in Gothenburg will start operations in 2022. With it, Volvo claims to be among “the few automotive brands to make battery cell development and production part of its end-to-end engineering capabilities.”
With this investment, Volvo demonstrates that it is perfectly aware of a battery pack's role in an electric car. It is not only the most expensive component but also a crucial one. All companies that believe they can just order a battery pack from a supplier – as they do with tires and seats – will be in a very fragile position in an electrified world.
According to Volvo, the company will produce “state-of-the-art battery cells, specifically developed for use in next-generation pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.” Considering deliveries will only start in 2025, that certainly does not refer to the Volvo Embla or the Polestar 3, which should be presented in 2022. Even the future Polestar vehicles will not use it since the last Polestar announced, the 5, will hit production lines in 2024.
The two companies stressed that the factory would only use fossil-free energy in an effort to promote clean energy in the region. They also mentioned that Adrian Clarke, a former Tesla executive, would run the battery joint venture. He was involved with the Tesla GIgafactory in Reno, the Hornsdale Big Battery in Australia, and finally was the head of Giga Grünheide in Germany until very recently.
Apart from the new factory, Volvo and Northvolt also announced that their joint R&D (research and development) center in Gothenburg will start operations in 2022. With it, Volvo claims to be among “the few automotive brands to make battery cell development and production part of its end-to-end engineering capabilities.”
With this investment, Volvo demonstrates that it is perfectly aware of a battery pack's role in an electric car. It is not only the most expensive component but also a crucial one. All companies that believe they can just order a battery pack from a supplier – as they do with tires and seats – will be in a very fragile position in an electrified world.
Google News