Audi set up battery development at the Neckarsulm site

Audi says in a press release that its employees have been trained for this since the end of 2020. In order to specialise in the field of high-voltage batteries, Audi will offer its employees at the Neckarsulm Technical Development unit various advanced training opportunities in the coming years. Audi is already developing high-voltage batteries for plug-in hybrids (PHEV) in Neckarsulm. Now, development of complete high-voltage battery portfolios for fully electric vehicles is being settled at the location and gradually expanded. Additionally, a battery center for testing high-voltage storage technologies will go into operation by 2023. “High-voltage batteries and electric engines make up an important strategic component of future value creation in a transformed auto industry. That is why we are systematically expanding our competency in developing these components,” says Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board for Technical Development at Audi. The structures for PHEV high-voltage battery development already exist: for that reason, the location is best prepared for also developing the complete high-voltage battery portfolio. Personnel working with high-voltage battery development – in continued close collaboration with high-voltage battery development at the Ingolstadt site – will be located primarily in Neckarsulm, the press release continues. Additionally, a battery center is in development at the Neckarsulm site. In this laboratory for pilot projects, employees with additional training who previously worked at the testing facility for combustion engines will be testing prototypes of new high-voltage storage modules for various electric vehicles starting in 2023. “The company’s investment decision to locate high-voltage battery development and a battery center in Neckarsulm is a clear commitment to electrification and with it the site’s long-term security,” says Audi Neckarsulm Plant Manager Fred Schulze. Audi’s commitment to the Neckarsulm site is also reflected in several construction projects - construction on a new multi-function building for the Technical Development unit will be completed in late 2022 and the new paint shop by 2025. A new building for assembly is already geared toward mixed production and future e-models.