Chinese company to set up battery manufacturing in Germany

SVOLT, which develops and produces lithium-ion batteries and battery systems for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, will establish its European production site in Germany, as the company announced at IAA back in 2019. A module and pack factory, as well as a cell factory with 24 GWh production capacity in the final expansion stage will be built at two Saarland locations, according to a press release. The company is planning a total investment of up to EUR 2 billion for its new European venture. In total, SVOLT aims to create up to 2’000 jobs. At the German sites the company will produce battery cells and modules as well as high-voltage storage systems. Battery cell production is currently planned to start at the end of 2023 and will be established near the Saarland town of Überherrn. In its final expansion stage, the company aims to achieve a production capacity of 24 GWh, which corresponds to batteries for 300’000 to 500’000 electric cars per year. The module and pack factory on the other hand will be implemented on an already industrialised site at Heusweiler, which will be retrofitted for module and pack production. Production at the module and pack plant is expected to start as early as mid-2022. Aiming for 100 GWh production capacity by 2025 SVOLT has set a goal for it self, to establish 100 GWh battery cell production capacities globally by 2025. In addition to the plant in Germany, three more plants are planned in the Asian Pacific region with an installed total capacity of 76 GWh, the company says in the press release. SVOLT opened the first of the four planned cell factories in Jintan, China in November 2019. To make these plans a reality, the company is investing a total EUR 8 billion. And to run its global operations, the company intends to employ around 10’000 people. “For SVOLT as a global high-tech company for electromobility, the European automotive industry and the growing market for renewable energies are of great strategic importance. We have selected Saarland as our first European production site for SVOLT’s high-end products for a number of reasons: It is not only at the heart of Europe, but also represents a region of innovation and technology for the automotive industry. We are convinced that the start of the partnership with Saarland will be an important step in the development of a new, alternative and sustainable energy industry and that together we will therefore make a significant contribution to the future,” says Hongxin Yang, President & General Manager SVOLT Energy Technology.