Stellantis aims to start producing batteries in Europe together with Total in the ACC joint venture from 2023. The first factory is to be built in France, a second is planned for Germany. Ultimately, it is also the intention to produce batteries for other car manufacturers.
ACC, which stands for Automotive Cells Corporation, is currently in talks with the French government to obtain approval for the construction of the first battery factory in Douvrin. Initially, the goal is to produce 8 GWh of lithium-ion batteries there annually, but by 2030 that production capacity should be 32 GWh per year. In addition, the joint venture wants to open a second battery factory in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in 2025. For that factory, the target is a production volume of at least 24 GWh per year. The two factories together must eventually provide 1 million EVs per year with a battery. The total investment amounts to a total of € 5 billion, of which France (€ 846 million) and Germany (€ 437 million) jointly cough up 26 percent.
According to Yann Vincent, CEO of ACC, other car manufacturers should eventually also take advantage of the two battery factories. “Our first contract is with Stellantis, but ultimately our goal is to sell to every car manufacturer,” he said. Automotive News. Renault is reportedly a potential customer as batteries from France can help reduce the total cost of manufacturing EVs. The two locations of the battery factories were not chosen entirely by chance, because petrol and diesel engines are currently still being built for Stellantis in Douvrin and Kaiserslautern.
European goal
It is not clear whether the European Union will still contribute to the total investment in ACC’s two battery factories. However, the EU is actively promoting the construction of battery factories in Europe. Last year, the European Investment Bank invested another € 350 million in a Swedish battery factory of Northvolt. That factory should open this year and initially produce 16 GWh per year of batteries. Ultimately, they want to boost that capacity to 40 GWh per year. In addition, battery manufacturers such as CATL and LG Chem are also showing interest in building battery factories in Europe. The EU estimates that the continent’s total production capacity in 2030 will be more than 400 GWh of lithium-ion batteries per year.