French lithium-ion battery systems firm Forsee Power is preparing for a “tenfold” increase in production with plans for a new manufacturing facility in the country.
Foresee said the 15,000m² “mass manufacturing” facility to be built in Grand Poitier, western France, will initially run three automated production lines.
The new lines will offer “sufficient capacity to manufacture 2,500 electric bus batteries per year, or the equivalent for industrial vehicles,” Forsee said.
“All the roofs of the plant and its car parks will be covered with photovoltaic panels to generate 1.8MWp of clean electricity to power the plant, with the surplus being injected into the main grid.”
According to Forsee 10,000 m² of additional land “will be held in reserve” at the site— allowing the firm to expand further as required.
Forsee said the new facility would create more than 100 jobs this year “and around 300 by 2021”, after which further expansion of the site could be considered.
CEO Christophe Gurtner said the new plant would give the firm “the manufacturing capacity it needs to support the energy transition of public transport systems in Europe”.
“This investment is a perfect fit with the industry plan announced by the French government at the end of last year, which particularly targets the development of a French batteries sector,” Gurtner said.
Foresee, which has facilities in Europe and the US, said last December that it had secured EUR55 million ($67.2m) in funding to boost industrial production of its battery systems— supported by the European Investment Bank, Japan’s Mitsui & Co and private equity firm Idinvest Partners.
The company said the funding would help its goal of mass production in Europe and China.
