Saft joins forces with the Chinese Tianneng to grow in China

Manufacturing will be based at the Changxing Gigafactory, with a potential capacity of 5.5 gigawatt hours (GWh), among which several GWh are already in operation. Saft will have a 40% shareholding in the new JV, while the Tianneng Group will hold the remaining shares, a press release reads. The JV will primarily focus on the development, manufacturing and sales of advanced Li-ion cells, modules and packs for China and worldwide markets. E-bikes and Electric Vehicles (EV), as well as Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) will be the target markets. The partners also plan to expand the Changxing facility to ramp up its production capacity to meet future growing demand, mainly driven by e-mobility sales and the development of renewables. "This is a first strategic move driven by Total, following the acquisition of Saft in 2016, to grow Saft's activity in China, the world’s largest renewables market, as well as in the ESS segment as an essential component to the large scale development of intermittent renewable energies," says Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, in the release. “The JV will allow Saft to join forces with a Chinese partner, a world leading lead acid battery manufacturer, willing to develop its lithium-ion activities. It will also give Saft access to China’s booming battery market as well as highly-competitive mass production capacity to accelerate its growth.” “We are delighted to start building a long-term partnership with Tianneng with a shared industrial vision,” adds Ghislain Lescuyer, Saft CEO. “This JV will allow us to make a step change and significantly increase our footprint in the Chinese Li-ion market that will represent over 40% of the global demand by 2025 and to develop our worldwide activities.”