Swedish battery agency Northvolt on Thursday mentioned it could construct a $5.2 billion (USD) EV battery manufacturing facility in Canada’s Quebec province—its first outdoors of Europe.
Generally known as Northvolt Six, the manufacturing facility shall be positioned simply outdoors Montreal, in response to an organization press launch. The primary part of development is scheduled to start out this yr, with the aim of getting the manufacturing facility operational by 2026.
The manufacturing facility will initially have 30 gigawatt-hours of annual battery manufacturing capability, later increasing to 60 gigawatt-hours. The 170-hectare web site will host cathode and cell manufacturing, in addition to battery recycling, in response to Northvolt.
Rendering of Northvolt Six battery manufacturing facility in Quebec, Canada
The Inflation Discount Act (IRA) handed final yr was one of many elements within the firm’s alternative of Canada for the brand new manufacturing facility. The situation checks one of many packing containers for qualification for the revamped federal EV tax credit score which, underneath the IRA, stipulates North American manufacturing for EV batteries.
“IRA took the business without warning,” Northvolt co-founder Paulo Cerruti, a former Tesla government when that firm was organising its Nevada Gigafactory, mentioned in an interview with Reuters. He mentioned Northvolt assembled a web site choice group round a yr in the past, accelerating the method in early 2023. Some websites within the U.S. have been additionally thought-about, Cerruti informed Reuters. The Canadian web site was finally chosen partly due to entry to uncooked supplies and renewable vitality.
Cerruti additionally informed Reuters that Northvolt had secured an “anchor buyer” for the Canadian manufacturing facility, however declined to call it. The corporate has already named two main automakers as prospects for its European battery crops.
Northvolt Revolt battery recycling
Northvolt plans a mammoth battery plant in Sweden with Volvo able to supplying 500,000 EVs yearly. It seems an electrical XC60 SUV is likely to be one of many first Volvo merchandise to get Northvolt cells—round 2026. Northvolt can be planning to make $2.3 billion of batteries for BMW, beginning in 2024.
Northvolt began in 2017 with a number of former Tesla executives, and declarations that if no person rises in Europe to scale up with EV batteries, Europe could be depending on Asia for its battery provide. In 2021, it confirmed a cell made with 100% recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC).
