Europe's Total and Groupe PSA Form $5.5 Billion EV Battery Venture

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Four French companies have joined forces to build a 5 billion-euro ($5.5 billion) electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing hub that will be capable of making up to 1 million EV batteries per year--up to 15% of Europe's demand.

Automotive Cell Company is a 50-50 joint venture established by French oil and gas producer Total SA (NYSE:TOT) and its battery subsidiary Saft America Incorporated (Bagnolet, France) with car conglomerate Groupe PSA--the second largest car manufacturer in Europe--and its Opel car brand. The new company will leverage battery R&D know-how of Saft, and the endeavour will kick off with the construction a pilot plant on the land of Saft's Nersac facility. The plant is scheduled to start up in mid-2021 and represents an investment of 200 million euro ($221 million). The group claims that the technology used will offer the highest level of energy performance, both in terms of range and charging time, and a lower carbon footprint than that of the competition in Europe.

After the first phase will come the construction of a large-scale production plant (8 gigawatt hours (GWh) initially, rising to 24 GWh later on) in the northern Hauts-de-France region. A second plant of similar scale will be built in Germany, in order to reach 48 GWh of combined capacity by 2030. Automotive Cell Company said this would represent production of 1 million batteries a year, or around 10-15% of the European market. The company said that the European market for automotive batteries is estimated to reach around 400 GWh in 2030, or 15 times current needs, corresponding to more than 7 million electric vehicles.

The new projects will receive nearly 1.3 billion euro ($1.43 billion) in public funding during its development through the European Commission's Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) initiative.

"In 2015, Total set an ambition to become the responsible energy major," explained Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total. "With that in mind, we acquired Saft, a major battery maker, in 2016, primarily to develop energy storage to support the growth of intermittent renewable energies such as solar and wind. The fast-growing development of electric mobility offers Total, via Saft, another opportunity for growth and commitment to a decarbonised economy. With the support of French, German and European authorities, we will deploy our best expertise and technologies alongside our partner Groupe PSA, to create a competitive European battery industry."

Carlos Tavares, chairman of the Managing Board of Groupe PSA, added: "Our purpose is to offer citizens mobility options that are clean, safe and affordable. I am convinced that this project, with our partner Total/Saft, will create a benchmark player in automotive battery cell development and production in Europe."

Industrial Info is tracking a number of major European EV battery initiatives and plans. In November, Tesla's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk revealed that the company's first European EV manufacturing "gigafactory" would be located in Berlin, Germany. Industrial Info is tracking the company's plan to spend up to 2 billion euro ($2.2 billion) for the grassroot Gruenheide Electric Cars and Lithium-Ion Batteries Manufacturing "Gigafactory 4" Plant.

The largest confirmed project under way is the Northvolt AB project in Skelleftea, Sweden, to produce 8 GWh of battery capacity starting in 2020. Three additional expansion projects are planned to boost production to 32 GWh by 2023. Volkswagen AG, which has revealed the most ambitious EV plans of any European carmaker, is seeking permission for its own gigafactory on a 690-acre site in Salzgitter, Germany, where a pilot battery production operation is underway. The project could cost up to $11.3 billion. For additional information, see November 25, 2019, article - Tesla Picks Berlin for First European Gigafactory and June 24, 2019, article - Europe's First Giant Battery Plant Gets Funding.

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