Renera, a subsidiary of TVEL Fuel Company Rosatom, has revealed plans to build up to 12GWh of lithium-ion battery production capability in Russia.
The investment project agreement with the government of Kaliningrad Region aims to build the plant for lithium-ion cells and energy storage systems in Russia’s Western exclave region.
Enertech International— a South Korean lithium-ion battery maker and Renera’s 49% subsidiary since 2021— will be the technological partner of the project.
The Russian gigafactory will be launched at the Baltic NPP site with the goal of commissioning the plant in 2026.
The full production capacity of the plant will be at least 3GWh annually.
The announcement comes as Russian markets indicate the production volumes planned a year ago may be insufficient, said Emin Askerov, director general of Renera.
Askerov said: “To fulfil the current plans for electric transport development, we are considering a possible growth of the plant’s production capacity up to 12GWh.”
Natalia Nikipelova, president of TVEL Fuel Company, said: “Building a large-scale facility for production of energy storage units is an important milestone for accomplishment of our strategy aimed at development of new non-nuclear businesses, but also for fulfilment of the government’s electric transport development concept with an outlook till 2030.
“The plant’s production is supposed to be consumed mainly by domestic car manufacturers, therefore the enterprise will make a significant contribution to implementation of the state policy of import substitution.”
Russian-made lithium-ion batteries could be used in electric vehicles, power grids, uninterruptible power supply systems and energy consumption balancing systems.
State-owned Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation (Rosatom), which was founded by Vladimr Putin, is the largest producer of electricity in Russia, ensuring more than 20% of the country’s energy needs.
