Battery maker Varta has laid the foundation stone at its lithium-ion production facility at the company’s production site in Nördlingen, Germany.
The new building will provide an additional 15,000 square meters of production space to enable the German-battery maker to produce its latest generation of lithium-ion cells from next year.
The lithium-ion battery cell factory will cater for the wearables and the Internet of things market.
Varta CEO Herbert Schein said the expansion of its CoinPower cell production will one day manufacture lithium-ion cells with a 30% improved energy density.
Varta Group plans to transfer its small-cell technology to larger formats. Varta has received a total of €300 million ($341 million) funding to help transfer its technology to larger format batteries for use in energy storage and mobility applications.
The Federal State of Bavaria is contributing €32million ($36 milion) for the research and development of lithium-ion technology at the Nördlingen site. The federal government is contributing another €70 million ($80 million).
The foundation stone was laid by Bavaria’s prime minister Dr. Markus Söder and the secretary of state in the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Roland Weigert.
Image: Bavaria’s Prime Minister Dr. Markus Söder and CEO Herbert Schein in the factory in Nördlingen. Photo: Varta