PowerCo starts battery cell production at Salzgitter gigafactory
Volkswagen-owned PowerCo has officially commissioned its gigafactory in Salzgitter, Germany, and started production of its first Unified Cells “made in Europe,”.
The milestone marks the first time Volkswagen designs, develops, and manufactures battery cells entirely in Europe, the company states in a press release.
The cells will be delivered to Volkswagen Group brands for final road testing, with the first applications planned for next year in the Electric Urban Car Family, which includes Volkswagen, ŠKODA, and SEAT/CUPRA models.
According to the company, PowerCo is expected to cover about 50% of Volkswagen Group’s demand for Unified Cells, with the remainder supplied by external vendors. The standardised cell architecture is designed for global use across multiple brands and battery chemistries, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP), nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), and potentially solid-state cells.
The initial Unified Cell produced in Salzgitter is based on NMC technology and offers roughly 10% higher energy density than previous cells. The cell is designed to integrate with Volkswagen’s new cell-to-pack battery system, which is intended to improve range, efficiency, and performance. Additional variants, including LFP-based cells, are planned.
Production will be gradually ramped up over the coming year. The Salzgitter facility has an initial annual capacity of up to 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh), equivalent to approximately 250,000 electric vehicles, and can be expanded to 40 GWh.
The site covers 69,000 square meters – about ten football pitches. The plant will serve as the lead facility for PowerCo’s subsequent gigafactories in Valencia, Spain, and St. Thomas, Canada.
The Salzgitter site also houses an expanding research and development centre, with additional testing facilities scheduled to begin operations in early 2026.