Polish state agency ARP, has newly confirmed that LG Chem will launch the largest electric vehicle battery factory for Europe in Poland this year.
The factory, which is to employ 2,500 people, will produce enough cells for 100,000 battery packs (of undisclosed sizes), which means no less than several GWh per year.
Currently, there is no shortage of auto manufacturers in Europe willing to purchase batteries from LG’s new factory – with leading brands like Jaguar, which will introduce the I-PACE, as well as the Volkswagen Group, Renault-Nissan and Daimler.
According to Polish state industry agency ARP, LG Chem intends to spend 5.9 billion zlotys ($1.63 billion) on the factory near the southwestern city of Wroclaw.
Wroclaw is 190 kilometres (118 miles) from the border with Germany, home of Volkswagen Group which plans to invest more than €20 billion ($24 billion) in zero-emission vehicles by 2030 and make 3 million electric vehicles (EVs) a year by 2025.
Asked about the source of lithium and other raw materials, a representative of LG Chem’s local arm said they would first be imported from the parent company in Korea and then hopefully from Polish suppliers.
The anticipated demand for batteries for electric vehicles (in Europe particularly), suggests that the new factory in Poland will not be the largest one for too long – if Sweden’s NorthVolt project gets fully funded, production will be set to go underway as planned with up to 32 GWH produced annually by 2023.
“The company has chosen Poland as the most competitive location for production to satisfy the needs of European and global car producers,” explained Chang-Beom Kang, vice president at LG Chem to Reuters.
Source: industryeurope.com