Car maker Groupe PSA and fossil fuel giant Total are forming a joint venture called Automotive Cells Company (ACC) to build lithium-ion batteries.
The French firms will pool their knowledge to develop lithium-ion batteries with the goal of beginning mass production from 2023 in gigafactories in Douvrin (France) and Kaiserslautern (Germany).
Groupe PSA’s Yann Vincent has been appointed the JV’s chief executive, while Total’s Ghislain Lescuyer has been appointed chairman of the board.
BEST reported on the plans for the joint venture in February, which include an 8GWh production plant (rising to 24GWh) at a cost of €200 million ($220 million), a similar sized €5 billion ($5.5 billion) plant in Germany to reach 48GWh of combined capacity by 2030.
Total— which bought lithium battery maker Saft in 2016— will contribute its expertise in R&D and industrialisation. Groupe PSA will contribute its knowledge of the automotive market and its experience in production.
The R&D centre in Bordeaux and a pilot site in Nersac (France) have already started in order to develop high-performance lithium-ion technologies.
