German firms Triathlon Batteries and Jungheinrich have formed a joint venture company “focused on the production and recycling of lithium-ion battery systems”.
Jungheinrich, known as a forklift truck manufacturer, will have a 70% majority stake in the new company— JT Energy Systems— which is set to start operations in Glauchau in August 2019.
The partners, who both produce a range of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, are staying tight-lipped about details of the new business and did not respond to BEST Battery Briefing’s requests for interviews.
However, the partners said the new firm would create around 100 new jobs “in the next few years”.
Triathlon MD Martin Hartmann, said the move would help “achieve greater economies of scale and scope that will in turn increase our competitiveness considerably”. “This move will give our customers and partners access to an even broader range of cutting-edge lithium-ion battery systems.”
Hans-Georg Frey, chairman of Jungheinrich’s board of management, said: “For our customers, energy efficiency and maximum truck availability are key competitive advantages. We support them in this with a range of trucks and solutions that utilise the benefits of lithium-ion technology. The exponential sales growth we have experienced in recent years shows that the intralogistics sector is making a decisive move toward lithium-ion technology.”
