European car makers aim to streamline the supply chain needed for their intended transition to electric vehicles, and securing lithium-ion batteries will play a major part. On Monday, Stellantis announced a second deal for a battery factory in the U.S. Here are major companies’ plans to build battery plants, tagged “gigafactories” by the industry, to supply the expected influx of fully electric vehicles.
— Stellantis plans to have five battery factories operating between Europe and North America 2030, according to its strategic plan.
The Amsterdam-based maker of Jeep, Dodge, and Peugeot said in May that its first gigafactory, in Douvrin, France, will be partially operational by the end of the year. That lithium-ion battery plant is a project of Automotive Cells Company, the battery-maker owned equally by Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, and France’s TotalEnergies.
Stellantis also has three plants planned in North America. A Canadian factory, in partnership with South Korea-based LG Energy Solution, could be operational next year. Two factories in the U.S.–one under construction and one planned–in partnership with South Korean battery firm Samsung SDI will give the car maker a foothold in that crucial market. One gigafactory should be operational in 2025 and the other in 2027.
— Volkswagen’s strategy includes securing raw materials, assembling batteries and manufacturing cells under its PowerCo unit. The German car maker said that PowerCo intends to operate six battery-cell factories in Europe by 2030.
Its first battery cell factory is under construction in Salzgitter, Germany, with the help of Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese battery supplier of which Volkswagen owns a majority stake.
The German car maker also has one battery factory planned each in Canada, Spain and Sweden.
— Renault, along with Japanese battery producer Envision AESC, said it plans to open a gigafactory next year in Douai, France.
The French car maker also plans to open a battery plant in Dunkirk with Verkor, a French battery company. That project is set to open in 2025 and supply Renault’s premium electric vehicles.
Renault also has a joint venture with China’s Minth Group to manufacture battery casings at a factory in Ruitz, France, set to open in 2025.
— Mercedes-Benz plans said it plans to build eight battery cell factories worldwide by 2030.
The German luxury car maker, which co-owns Automotive Cells Company with Stellantis and TotalEnergies, will use that venture to build facilities in Europe, according to its latest annual report.
It has also teamed up with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.–known as CATL–to produce battery cells and modules in Debrecen, Hungary. Mercedes will partner with Japan’s Envision AESC on factories in the U.S., it said, including on in Alabama.
— BMW Group said it plans to partner with various companies to build six battery plants–two in China, two in Europe and two in North America.
Last year the German luxury car company said it has contracts with Chinese battery manufacturers CATL and Eve Energy to build two plants in Europe and two in China. BMW is also partnering with Japan’s Envision AESC to build a new battery-cell plant in South Carolina, and last year said it is expanding production at its factory in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.
BMW already assembles batteries for electric vehicles at four plants–two in Germany, one in the U.S., and one in Shenyang, according to its annual report. It will begin to assemble batteries at a Hungary facility in 2025 and in Mexico in 2027.
