VW's PowerCo breaks ground on Spanish gigafactory
VW's PowerCo has given the starting signal for constructing its second cell factory. Gigafactory Valencia will start production in 2026 and will directly employ more than 3,000 people in the future.
The Volkswagen Group has made battery technology a core element of its "NEW AUTO" strategy and has established PowerCo, a separate battery company. Since its launch in July 2022, PowerCo has decided on three sites for cell factories: Salzgitter in Germany, Valencia in Spain and St. Thomas in Ontario, Canada, two of them already under construction.
“We are moving into the fast lane with PowerCo. We have just broken ground for PowerCo’s second gigafactory in Valencia, and are already making the next step with the announcement of another gigafactory in St. Thomas, Canada. Our objective is to make PowerCo a global player in the battery business and pave the way for better mobility with sustainably manufactured battery cells. The gigafactory Valencia is an important milestone in that,” says Thomas Schmall, Board of Management member responsible for Group Technology and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PowerCo in a press release
The annual production capacity at the Valencia plant will initially be 40 GWh, but it has the potential to be expanded to 60 GWh in the future. The cell factory is being built over an area of around 130 hectares in Sagunto, in the immediate vicinity of Valencia. The company states that the availability of low-cost green electricity, and the regional research and innovation cluster – not to mention the proximity to the VW group’s Spanish production sites, were important factors in deciding to build the site in Valencia.
Once completed, the Valencia gigafactory will supply unified cells to the vehicle plants in Martorell and Pamplona, among others.
PowerCo intends to manufacture sustainable batteries in Valencia. The cell factory will be supplied completely with green electricity generated by solar and wind power and the raw material cycle will be closed directly on the site of the cell factory
Gigafactory Valencia is described as a core component of the EUR 10 billion investment programme called “Future: Fast Forward” which the Volkswagen Group announced last year together with PowerCo, its Spanish subsidiary SEAT S.A. and 49 partners. Under the plan, Volkswagen will also electrify its car factories in Martorell and Pamplona-
