OEM

Vehicle OEM BMW Group has signed a long-term supply contract worth €2 billion ($2.3 billion) to secure lithium-ion battery cells from the Swedish company Northvolt. 

The battery cells will be produced at Northvolt’s planned gigafactory in Skellefteå in northern Sweden (series plant Northvolt Ett) when the plant is completed from 2024.

South Korea's vehicle OEM Hyundai Motor Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PV manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells to recycle old EV batteries into second-life energy storage applications.

The partnership will develop energy storage systems (ESS) using old EV batteries for the European and North American markets.

Vehicle OEM Volkswagen is investing €450 ($487million) to construct the buildings and infrastructure of a European lithium-ion gigafactory it is developing with its joint venture partner Northvolt.

Construction of the Northvolt Zwei factory in Salzgitter, Germany— close to VW’s existing Center of Excellence for Battery Cells— is due to begin by the close of the year with cell production scheduled for early 2024.

German vehicle OEM Volkswagen is moving to a NMC 811 cell format in its electric vehicle battery packs with the “medium to long term” goal of one day producing cobalt free cells.

The company is following Tesla’s lead in moving to the NMC 811 cell format, which VW’s China battery supplier CATL believes gives better performance capabilities over its previous NCM 523 cells. 

A stream of lithium battery solutions from some of the big names in lithium-ion manufacturing and automotive systems suppliers were presented at AABC. And they seem to provide all the answers to the OEM’s emission targets for 2021 and 2030.

Chris Ferhenbacher, from A123 Systems, showed real data that appeared to prove conclusively that lithium-ion with their latest phosphate technology is superior to an equivalent AGM battery, even at -30C.