germany

Chemical firm BASF has broken ground on its cathode active materials production plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, less than a year after announcing the project.

The plant is scheduled to start making enough materials for 400,000 full electric vehicles per year in 2022 as part of BASF’s investment plan in the European battery materials market.

Vehicle OEM Volkswagen is investing €450 ($487million) to construct the buildings and infrastructure of a European lithium-ion gigafactory it is developing with its joint venture partner Northvolt.

Construction of the Northvolt Zwei factory in Salzgitter, Germany— close to VW’s existing Center of Excellence for Battery Cells— is due to begin by the close of the year with cell production scheduled for early 2024.

Battery test equipment specialist Arbin Instruments has opened a dedicated European sales office in Germany to develop closer relationships with existing customers and reach new markets. 

The Munich office is the US firm’s second in the country and comes as Arbin looks to expand in the region and capitalise on the potential of the European market.

Researchers at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) in Germany to bridge the gap from prototype demonstration to industrial mass production of large-format lithium-ion cells.

Launched earlier this month, the ZellkoBatt project will look at reducing the costs of components and digitising manufacturing processes for cells to be used in automotive applications.

The research will include large-format pouch and PHEV-2 cells up to 80Ah and 21700 cylindrical cells.

A series of major fires at waste recycling facilities has led Germany’s lawmakers to investigate the introduction of a compulsory deposit return scheme for lithium-ion batteries.

The proposal, by Germany’s federal association for disposal, water and raw materials management (BDE), is initially focused on halting the disposal of batteries in discarded toys and electronic devices— but could include electric bikes and cars, BEST Battery Briefing(BBB) understands.