Northvolt announced a major $200 million investment in Poland to establish Europe’s largest factory for energy storage solutions (ESS).

The company is already present in Gdansk, Poland and has been since October 2018, when it started the Northvolt Battery Systems Jeden, a facility designed for industrialization and assembly of battery modules and solutions.

Now, the plan is to expand operations and launch a 50,000 m2 factory in two stages. The construction of the first phase (5 GWh of energy storage systems per year) is expected to start in autumn 2021. The production will start in 2022.

After adding the second phase, the potential total manufacturing capacity will be 12 GWh per year.

"The development of the new factory has already commenced, with the expectation that the first phase of construction will begin in autumn 2021, for a start of production in 2022. The initial phase of the project will establish an annual output of 5 GWh of modules and packs. A second phase of the project will see the factory expanded to a total capacity of 12 GWh. Including a new engineering R&D center of excellence to be set-up in conjunction with the factory expansion, the initiative will create 500 new jobs in the Gdańsk region."

The new factory will receive its supply of lithium-ion battery cells from Northvolt Ett gigafactory, located in Skellefteå, Sweden to produce modules and packs for stationary applications.

"The investment will facilitate a ramp-up in the manufacturing capacity of battery modules and systems in order to fulfill contracts that Northvolt has secured with customers seeking long-term, high-volume supply agreements for complete battery system solutions across grid and industrial markets."

Northvolt Voltpack Mobile System
Northvolt Voltpack Mobile System
Northvolt facility
Northvolt Ett gigafactory

According to Bloomberg's article, almost a quarter of Northvolt battery production will be used for ESS (the remaining part will be used mostly for xEVs).

The company would like to quickly capture 15-25% of the ESS projects in Europe, and a third by 2025.

Peter Carlsson, Co-Founder and CEO, Northvolt said:

“Securing battery cell manufacturing capacity in Europe is key for its industrial future, but what is equally critical is the industrial capacity for integrating cells into real-world solutions. It is this that the new factory will deliver – sophisticated, sustainable energy storage systems to support the transformation of Europe’s electricity grid and its industry,”.

Emad Zand, President Battery Systems, Northvolt said:

“Northvolt has been present in Poland for three years and we are impressed by both the professionalism and caliber of the engineers and manufacturing staff we’re engaged with in our activities here. We are excited about going out and recruiting 500 more,”.

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