- The company said that around €450 million is to be invested in this project
- Construction work at the site is scheduled to commence before the end of this year
Volkswagen has announced that its battery joint venture with Swedish battery producer Northvolt is moving forward and it will start production of lithium-ion cells in Salzgitter in early 2024. The initial production capacity is of 16-gigawatt hours
It has been decided that Volkswagen will erect the buildings and infrastructure for the joint venture’s “Northvolt Zwei” factory that will produce lithium-ion battery cells. The company said that around €450 million is to be invested in this project. The joint venture will then rent the factory space.
Large-scale production of lithium-ion batteries
Dr. Stefan Sommer, Volkswagen group board member for components and procurement and a member of the Northvolt AB Board of Directors said, “We are optimizing the Volkswagen Group’s strategic position in the key future field of batteries. In addition to a very secure supply base with external producers, we are also systematically building up further capacities.”
Volkswagen and Northvolt established a joint venture to prepare for the large-scale production of lithium-ion batteries in Germany in September 2019. Construction work at the site is scheduled to commence before the end of this year.
Thomas Schmall, CEO of Volkswagen group components said, “Battery cell production in Salzgitter is an important step for the transformation to e-mobility. We are pooling expertise at the Salzgitter site with production capabilities and the Center of Excellence for Battery Cells, and are therefore driving battery cell development further forward, developing new standards and transferring them direct to the manufacturing process.”
