Northvolt And ABB Sign MoU For European Battery ‘Gigafactory’

Northvolt Battery Factory Sketch

ABB and energy storage startup Northvolt have established a partnership relating to the construction of Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery factory and other activities.

The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding for what Norfolk called a wide-ranging supply and technology partnership.

Northvolt, which was founded by two ex-Tesla executives, announced earlier this year plans for a 4- billion- euro factory capable of producing 32 gigawatt-hours of battery packs annually by 2023.

The factory will supply European customers in the automotive sector and other key industries with customizable battery solutions. Whether “key industries” includes solar energy storage specifically isn’t clear from the company’s web site, but it does envision creating products for stationary energy storage applications.

“The world is moving quickly towards electrification. We want to enable this transition by building the largest, cutting-edge lithium-ion battery factory on the European continent and producing the world’s greenest batteries,” said Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson.

Northvolt wishes to build its factory in a Nordic country in order to access clean water, inexpensive and carbon neutral energy with a stable grid. Additionally, several critical minerals used in building lithium-ion batteries can be mined in the region.

The company’s requirements for a site include at least 500,000 – 700,000 m2 of shovel-ready land with complete industrial zoning permits already in place, plus the potential to extend the industrial zoning area to 2,000,000 m2.

While Northvolt may be a new player, ABB is by no means so – it has been providing electrical equipment since its roots in the late 19th century.

The company is best known in Australia for ABB inverters; a popular inclusion in commercial and residential solar panel systems.

“We are excited to support Northvolt’s project to build the battery factory of the future here in one of our home countries”, said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. “This uniquely integrated factory would be a true showcase for ABB’s leadership in industrial automation and smart electrification and would help to meet the ever-increasing demand for smarter, greener storage solutions.”

It’s intended for ABB to supply a fully integrated robotics, automation and electrification solution for the factory, plus specialised software systems.

The facility will create jobs for 2,500 people and is expected to start operations in 2020, with a demonstration production line ready by 2019.

Northvolt believes there is a long-term market for 100-150 factories of this size globally.