German automotive manufacturer Continental is staying silent on potential moves to further develop its battery systems business.
CEO Dr Elmar Degenhart told the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting Continental’s entire organisational structure was under review while the firm “tested suitable scenarios”.
Continental declined to say whether the company could consider a spin-off of its battery systems production, but told BBB: “We are currently still in the analysis phase of organisational adjustments. We want to permanently position ourselves for further rapid growth, creating an entire global organisation that is extremely flexible, agile and innovative as well as capable of change and fit for the future.”
Asked for Continental’s opinion of European Commission plans to invest in developing an EU ‘green battery’ industry, the spokesperson told BBB: “High-voltage batteries for all-electric vehicles require a leap forward in cell technology development. That is the only way for us to achieve genuinely high energy density and output at reasonable cost.”
“This breakthrough could come in the form of solid-state batteries,” the spokesperson said. “If our expectations of solid-state technology were to be fulfilled, we could envisage getting involved in manufacturing these innovative batteries, and then in producing the battery cells as well. However, we would link any decision on investment to an attractive expected return.”
Continental’s business review comes just weeks after the company confirmed plans to launch a battery production joint venture with China’s Sichuan Chengfei Integration Technology (CITC). The partnership is expected to start producing 48-volt mild hybrid lithium-ion battery systems in China, by the middle of this year, targeting the European, North American and Asian electric vehicle markets.
The joint venture is developing and producing a battery platform “for all conventional 48-volt topologies (P0, P2, Px) up to 25kW”. The battery cells are provided by will be provided by CITC subsidiary CALB, while Continental’s contribution comes in the form of the battery management system including the basic software.
CEO Degenhart was quoted as saying last year the firm could “well imagine getting into the production of innovative batteries” However, he said Continental would not be interested in lithium-ion batteries— but rather in the next generation of solid-state batteries.