Volkswagen starts construction of first battery cell factory in Germany

Volkswagen has started construction of its first battery cell factory in Salzgitter, Germany. Production of battery cells for cars should start in 2025. Ultimately, the factory should have an annual capacity of 40GWh of batteries, enough for 500,000 cars.

The battery cell factory is coming under the new PowerCo business unit. The individual battery cells are made in the factory and come in battery packs. These cells are made on the basis of Volkswagen’s prismatic unified cells, cells that can be made on the basis of different chemical compositions. Eighty percent of all Volkswagen Group cars must use these cells. In addition to Volkswagen, the Group also includes brands such as Audi, Seat, Škoda and Lamborghini.

For the factory, Volkswagen will only use energy from renewable sources and the car manufacturer wants to be able to recycle 90 percent of the battery materials. The company says it eventually wants to build six factories in Europe. Some of these are built with partners such as Northvolt, while others are made solely by Volkswagen itself.

The first plant in Salzgitter is to accommodate 5,000 employees and provide a final annual capacity of 40GWh. Volkswagen expects to be able to make cells for half a million 80 kWh batteries with this every year. By 2030, when the six plants are ready, there should be a total capacity of 240GWh. The manufacturer is considering placing one of the battery factories in Valencia. Together with partners, Volkswagen wants to invest more than 20 billion euros for the battery factories.

PowerCo will not only be responsible for the six battery factories, but for the entire battery chain. This company is therefore also about collecting the raw materials, recycling the batteries and developing new batteries.