Cuberg’s Post

Big news today as Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturing company, announced that it will build a new electric vehicle battery plant in the area near Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville (Quebec), about 30 kilometres East of #Montreal. This site has been chosen out of 70 different locations in North America and it will be Northvolt's first mega factory outside of Europe. The facility, called "Northvolt Six", will run on renewable energy and will produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. It will starts his operations in 2026, creating up to 3,000 jobs in the region as the plant reaches its full production potential. The facility will be Canada's first fully integrated battery manufacturing plant — featuring on-site cathode manufacturing, battery production and recycling. The co-founder of Northvolt, Paolo Cerruti, will lead the project as CEO of Northvolt in North America. This project, supported by the Gouvernement du Québec – Carrières and by the Gouvernement du Canada, confirms the leadership position of Quebec in the green economy sector.

Northvolt slows down "We were too aggressive with our expansion plan" The expansion of e-mobility is stalling, as is the development of Northvolt's in Sweden: The battery cell manufacturer is apparently veering off course. CEO Peter Carlsson is questioning his plans - what does this mean for the planned factory in Heide? 03.07.2024 The Swedish battery cell manufacturer Northvolt is considering scaling back its expansion plans. "Northvolt is currently evaluating the timing of the further production ramp-up of its factories," said a Northvolt spokesperson. And: "The focus is on supplying customers from the first Northvolt Gigafactory site in Skellefteå." Company boss Peter Carlsson (53) had previously told the Swedish newspaper "Dagens Industri" and the "Financial Times" about the plans. "We were a little too aggressive with our expansion plan and we are now reviewing this," Carlsson told "Dagens Industri". It was recently announced that there have been further delays to the ramp-up of production at the first Northvolt factory on the outskirts of Skellefteå. The largest production facility for lithium-ion battery cells for green batteries in the whole of Europe is to be built there. However, as manager magazin exclusively reported a few days ago, car manufacturer BMW has withdrawn an order for cells worth two billion euros from the Swedish supplier. The company is years behind schedule and produces too many rejects, it said. Northvolt is also likely to suffer from the current weakness of the e-car market. The market for e-cars has recently been weaker than many had hoped. Due to the drop in demand and pressure from cheaper competition from China, US car manufacturer Tesla, among others, announced that it would also be laying off numerous employees in Germany. In Kaiserslautern, on the other hand, the construction of a battery cell factory is stalling. Both Northvolt for its plant near Heide in Schleswig-Holstein and the ACC Group in Kaiserslautern are receiving hundreds of millions of euros in subsidies from the German government. According to a report in the "Freie Presse" newspaper, hundreds of temporary jobs are to be cut at Volkswagen in Zwickau due to the lack of e-car orders. Problems with low-cost competition from China Carlsson told the Financial Times that they had to prove that they could keep up with Asian suppliers. Northvolt is currently struggling with numerous cheap imports from China. The company has therefore decided to review its expansion plans and concentrate on the plant in northern Sweden. However, Northvolt recently made headlines in the media due to two fatal accidents at the end of 2023 - and because three other men, all of whom worked at Northvolt, have died for unknown reasons since January. https://lnkd.in/g58c5_9n

Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz AG-Benz join forces to allocate €4.7 billion (to set up three new Electric Vehicle Gigafactories across the European Union), a move to counter Chinese-based electric vehicles, particularly BYD. i. These factories are planned to be built in Kaiserslautern (Germany), Termoli (Italy) and France (undisclosed) ii. Total funds needed to finance this project is €7 Billion. French and German governments have financed €1.3 billion. The Italian government is also expected to contribute to these factories. BNP Paribas, ING, Deutsche Bank, and Intesa Sanpaolo have come forward to finance this project as well. iii. It is expected that around 6000 people will be employed with this project. BYD sales around the globe and particularly in Europe have stunned competitors. Moreover, BYD plans to extend 160 Giga factories around the world. Resultantly, Industry Giants such as Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz AG have developed counter-plans to eradicate Chinese-based EV influence by developing Gigafactories. #electricalvehicles #gigafactory #mercedesbenz #stellantis

Action for a competitive and sustainable Europe 🙌🙌

Reindustrialization is booming with gigafactories, but there's a catch: reliance on foreign machinery and skills poses a strategic risk. Despite quality, Canada's trade deficit in industrial machinery soared to $4.6B. Karim Zaghib, CEO, and Victor Jacquet, Director of Operations at Volt-Age, discuss this in their article in Le Devoir, suggesting that reindustrialization is essential for a self-sufficient and robust economy. Time for a strategic rethink! #Manufacturing #Reindustrialization #Innovation #Decarbonization #VoltAgeConcordia https://lnkd.in/eiqyc2jS

#MobilityMonday: Northvolt’s trials and tribulations expose the growing pains of complex, capital-intensive electrification projects Northvolt has long been the poster child of the European energy transition. Founded in 2015 by two former Tesla executives, the company currently has three battery gigafactories in operation, with another four in construction and development. In January, Northvolt secured $5B in the form of the “largest green loan raised in Europe”, bringing its total equity and debt financing to more than $15B (see https://lnkd.in/dchir9tN). On top of that, the company has received purchase orders valued at more than $55B, including BMW Group, Scania Group, Volvo Cars, and Volkswagen Group. But despite a robust financing history and order book, recent developments at Northvolt illustrate just how difficult it is to scale a battery manufacturing facility to commercial viability. On June 20, it was reported that BMW canceled a €2B order for battery cells and that Samsung SDI would step in to fill in the order (see https://lnkd.in/dnyTySwd). Just a week earlier, it was also reported that delayed EV battery cell orders caused production timelines for Scania trucks to be pushed back (see https://lnkd.in/dGxvYPZb). Northvolt isn’t alone when it comes to the growing pains of Western gigafactories. Earlier this month, ACC - Automotive Cells Company — a Mercedes-Benz Vans USA and Stellantis supplier — halted construction of two of its three planned gigafactories (see https://lnkd.in/dd_siezm). Last fall, VW’s PowerCo delayed plans for a fourth gigafactory due to sluggish EV demand (see https://lnkd.in/dvghA8S2). Although Germany approved nearly a billion dollars in state funding for a domestic Northvolt gigafactory, that pales in comparison to other state-backed gigafactory support (see https://lnkd.in/dav3b67M). CATL was founded in 2011 and is now the largest EV battery maker in the world, having benefitted from billions of dollars in Chinese state subsidies since its inception (see https://lnkd.in/d5J_cHTc). As demand for battery cells continues to grow exponentially, newer Western battery makers like Northvolt will continue to face ramp-up issues as they try to catch up with legacy incumbents like LG Energy Solution and Samsung. Billions of dollars can’t replace years of manufacturing and human capital experience, though they can certainly try and expedite the learning curve amid the Great Onshoring. #battery #gigafactory #Northvolt #EV #BMW #Scania #Volvo #Volkswagen #LG #Samsung

The buzz in India is shifting;it's all about the EV battery revolution. From Log9's next-gen lithium cells to Celestial's ambitious solid-state batteries, innovation is electrifying the two-wheeler and car markets. Meanwhile, giants like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are securing partnerships with global leaders like CATL and LG Chem to build giga-factories and power their EV dreams. But it's not just about speed and range – Exide Life and Battery Smart are ensuring a sustainable future with nationwide recycling and second-life applications for used batteries. What do you think? Which of these EV battery players are you most excited about? #EVBattery #MadeInIndia #FutureOfMobility

STELLANTIS & MERCEDES-BENS STRATEGY TO COUNTER CHINESE EV COMPANIES Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz AG-Benz join forces to allocate €4.4 billion to set up three new Electric Vehicle Gigafactories across the European Union, a move to counter Chinese-based electric vehicles, particularly BYD.

Northvolt will be building a 170-hectare site between the communities of McMasterville and St-Basile-le-Grand and is set to commence production of EV batteries in 2026. 🔋 Initially, it will have the capability to manufacture approximately 30 gigawatt hours of cells annually, enough to power one million vehicles per year. Northvolt intends to double this capacity in the future. Quebec's government has committed up to $2.9 billion to secure the deal, while the federal government will contribute up to $1.34 billion. Prime Minister Trudeau stated that at full capacity, the plant could generate up to $1.6 billion in economic benefits. Read more at https://bit.ly/3rOUgQx . . . #EVSTART #EVNews #EVBatteryPlant #Sustainability

In a huge push to give European automakers a fighting chance over China in the EV sector, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz AG, have raised nearly €4.4 billion to build four new #EV #gigafactories across the European Union in the coming years. A press announcement this week said that the companies, along with TotalEnergies, have pulled off one of the largest debt fundraising operations ever carried out in the European auto sector. They expect to raise about €7 billion to build the factories for their co-owned battery maker ACC - Automotive Cells Company, which currently builds lithium-ion batteries in Billy-Berclau in northern France in a gigafactory that opened last year. Future factory sites include one factory in Kaiserslautern, Germany and two in Termoli, Italy, as well as undisclosed location in France, reports Reuters. The factories are expected to create 6,000 new jobs in total. #Batteries #electricvehicles