Chinese firm Svolt Energy Technology has announced plans to build a 20GWh lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Europe.
Although the location of the plant has not been disclosed, the company has said it is looking at Eastern Europe and Belt & Road Initiative countries (a Chinese government initiative that connects countries and international organisations).
Svolt says it has set aside €2 billion (US$2.24 billion) to build the facility, which will include a cathode materials factory and a battery technology center.
The factory is part of Svolt’s wider goal of adding 40GWh of lithium-ion cell making capacity outside China by 2025. Plans includes a 20GWh factory in North America: either in the US southwest/midwest or Mexico.
The firm also aims to have an operational output of 12GWh at its site in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province next year, part of its overall goal of 60GWh production capacity in China by 2025.
The announcement came as the firm launched its cobalt-free (NMx) and four-element (NCMA, which use 10% cobalt chemistry mix) lithium-ion batteries on 15 July.
The firm aims to market its prismatic stacking batteries as a rival to NCM811cells, which use an 8-1-1 ratio of nickel, cobalt and magnesium respectively.
Svolt has four R&D centers already in operation, in Baoding (China), Korea, Shanghai and India, and has three under construction in the US, Japan and Wuxi (China).
