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Electronics Production |
ElevenEs receives funding from EIT InnoEnergy for gigafactory
By 2030, it is said that Europe will need 14 times more batterires than what the region produces today. The growth drivers are electric mobility and the energy storage market, which both requires batteries to stabilise energy systems. ElevenEs, an industrial spin-off of the multinational Al Pack Group, is looking to supply just that.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries, which combine the advantages of long life, affordability and safety, are gaining an increasingly stronger position in the rapidly growing battery market; and ElevenEs has developed its own technology to produce lithium-iron-phosphate batteries that are more sustainable and efficient.
The company, which has been conducting R&D into LFP lithium-ion batteries since October 2019 has just recently opened a research and development centre in Subotica, Serbia, where it employs an international team of engineers and scientists.
“LFP cells last more than twice as long as competing chemistries, they can be recharged up to 6,000 times, charge faster, can be repeatedly charged to 100% state-of-charge and cause practically no fires in EVs. On top of that, they cost significantly less. It is the most popular choice in China today, which is still the global leader in battery technology,” says Nemanja Mikać, founder and CEO of ElevenEs in a press release.
ElevenEs has just signed agreements with EIT InnoEnergy and the entities announced a strategic partnership to build the first LFP lithium-ion battery gigafactory in Europe.
By 2023, The ElevenEs plant will be able to produce LFP cells with a total estimated annual capacity of 300 MWh. The construction of the 100% renewable energy powered 8 GWh plant in Subotica (Serbia) will start in 2024. It will later be expanded to a capacity of 16 GWh – enough to equip more than 300,000 electric vehicles (BEVs) with batteries each year. The company has stated that it intends to employ up to 2,000 employees.
“LFP batteries are the next big thing on the battery landscape. Although nickel-based batteries outperform LFP on energy density and are likely to remain the best option for performance cars, LFP is far better in terms of cost, safety and lifetime, making it a perfect choice for industrial, ESS and city EV (shorter range) applications,” says Jakub Miler, CEO at EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe.
