Shanghai-based energy group Envision has unveiled plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in China and upgrade production facilities it has acquired following its takeover of Nissan’s international lithium-ion business.
Envision CEO Zhang Lei (pictured) told the China Daily his company plans to build the plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, in a bid to drive down the cost of lithium batteries driving accelerating growth in China’s EV market.
In August, BEST Battery Briefing reported that Envision had agreed a deal to become the majority owner of Nissan’s Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC).
Zhang said the Wuxi plant would mean the company having “a unique presence in all major global automotive markets”.
And in addition to developing the Wuxi facility, Zhang said “Envision will upgrade AESC’s existing production facilities in Japan, the UK and the US, to step up production capacity to ensure the lower cost of lithium-ion batteries”.
Other recent investments of the Envision Group include in US EV charging network operator Chargepoint, US smart grid data provider, Autogrid, German ESS provider Sonnen, and a 100% stake in Norwegian renewable energy software company, Bazefield.