Norwegian battery maker Freyr Battery said it formed a joint venture (JV) with Nidec, a Japanese provider of energy storage systems (ESSs).
Called Nidec Energy, the JV aims to develop and supply highly competitive, integrated BESSs and products with low environmental impact, it said. Mass production is expected from 2025. The ambition is to manufacture more than 8GWh per year of battery modules and packs from 2027, and 12GWh per year by 2030.
Nidec Energy’s module production is expected to be integrated into Freyr’s Giga Arctic development. Volumes of integrated ESS solutions will align with the company’s plan to ramp up cell production in 2024.
The JV is also expected to invest more than $127 million by 2030, and eventually employ more than 300 people. Most of them will be based in Mo i Rana, Norway.
Freyr said as one of the prerequisites to establishing the JV, a package of 24M Technologies sample cells was sent to a leading independent third-party laboratory for testing on behalf of Nidec. This was to measure the capacity, charge and discharge profiles of the cells. This and technical performance confirmed that the operation of the cells was consistent with the specifications and data provided by Freyr.
The formation of the JV catalyses a firm sales contract under which Freyr will supply Nidec with 38GWh of next-generation, clean battery cells from 2025-30. The partnership with Nidec was announced in August 2022.
Freyr has commenced building the first of its planned factories in Mo i Rana. It has also announced potential development of industrial-scale battery cell production in Vaasa, Finland and the US. The company intends to install 50GWh of battery cell capacity by 2025, 100GWh annual capacity by 2028 and 200GWh of annual capacity by 2030.
The company also announced the closing of an underwritten public offering of 23,000,000 ordinary shares. The gross proceeds, including a green shoe option, were approximately $264.5 million. The offering closed on 5 December.
Freyr intends to use the proceeds for the continued construction of its Giga Arctic facilities, development expenditure for Giga America and general purposes.
