Daimler breaks ground on EV battery ‘gigafactory’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday broke ground on a new 500 million euro (Rs 3,822 crore) factory in Germany that is planned to assemble lithium ion battery packs for Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming line-up of EQ-branded electric cars as well as its Smart Electric Drive models, new electric commercial vehicles and future hybrid models.

The new facility in Kamenz, Germany, is described as Europe’s first true electric car battery making 'gigafactory' and marks the second stage in a broader €1 billion (Rs 7,644 crore) investment made by Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler in its Accumotive energy storage subsidiary as it prepares to enter the electric car ranks with its first unique styled EQ-badged model, previewed by the Generation EQ SUV, in 2019.

Taking on Tesla's battery power
Daimler hopes the establishment of the new plant will enable Mercedes-Benz to challenge electric car market leader Tesla, which is nearing completion of its battery Gigafactory in co-operation with Japanese electronics giant Panasonic in Nevada, USA, by providing the basis for a significant reduction in battery production costs together with increases in the energy density levels required to see the new generation of electric cars reach a promised range of more than 300 miles/ 480 kilometres.     

“The automotive industry is facing a fundamental transformation,” said Mercedes-Benz chairman, Dieter Zetsche. “The battery factory in Kamenz is an important component in the implementation of our electric offensive. By 2022, we will have more than ten purely electric passenger cars. We also continue to drive forward the hybridisation of our fleet. Under the EQ brand, we are creating a holistic ecosystem for e-mobility.”

Accumotive produces battery modules using individual cells supplied by a number of different companies, including Samsung SDI and LG. Earlier plans by Daimler to produce its own cells were shelved when it shuttered its Litec battery development subsidiary in 2015.

The new battery facility, which is located some 50 kilometres north of Dresden, in Eastern Germany, is scheduled to start production in mid-2018. Covering an area of around 20 hectares, it will quadruple the production and logistics of Accumotive’s current operations.

As well as producing batteries for future Mercedes-Benz electric cars, Accumotive will also provide batteries for the company’s new 48-volt equipped models, starting with the facelifted S-Class this summer.

Global battery production capacity is set to increase almost three-fold by 2021, according to electric car industry analysts, reaching 278GWh of capacity compared to some 103GWh today.

At the ceremony marking the start of construction of new Accumotive factory, Mercedes-Benz confirmed its upcoming line-up of electric cars would be produced “within the global network of Mercedes-Benz on four continents”.

The first EQ model, the production version of the Generation EQ SUV, will roll off that line at Mercedes-Benz’s plant in Bremen, Germany, in 2019. Additionally, the German car maker also confirmed luxury class EQ models will be produced at its plant in Sindelfingen, Germany.

Mercedes-Benz expects electric cars will make up between 15% and 25% of its total sales by 2025. 

The new production facility, which is situated approximately 50 kilometres from Dresden, is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2018. Covering an area of around 20 hectares, the site is in the direct vicinity of the existing battery factory. The new plant will quadruple the production and logistics area in Kamenz to a total of around 80,000 square meters. In the next few years ACCUMOTIVE will gradually increase the number of employees at the site. By the end of the decade, ACCUMOTIVE will have a total of over 1,000 employees and thus more than double the number compared to today’s level.

Kamenz will also supply batteries for commercial vehicles
The Kamenz facility will also supply to Daimler’s commercial vehicle divisions. Beginning next year, Mercedes-Benz Vans will go into series production with electric transporters. Both the Vito and Sprinter will be equipped with drive batteries from Kamenz.

Daimler Trucks will launch a small series of the Fuso eCanter later this year. This is the third generation of the world’s first purely electrically-driven light truck. Fuso also uses the batteries from Kamenz for the eCanter. Depending on the design, load and application profile, the 7.5-tonne truck has a range of more than 100km without stationary loading.

The Fuso eCanter will be delivered in small series from 2017 onwards. The first 150 units go to customers in Japan, Europe and the US. Mercedes-Benz Trucks is also starting the customer testing of the Urban eTruck, the world’s first full-electric heavy-duty truck. Daimler Buses is launching a full-electric Mercedes-Benz city bus in series production next year. Prototypes are already on the road.