Volvo Cars and Northvolt are to build a new battery manufacturing plant in Sweden that could have an annual production capacity of up to 50 gigawatt hours, supplying enough batteries for over half a million EVs per year.
The plant, due to be built in Torslanda, Gothenburg, is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs and will produce batteries specifically for the all-electric Volvo and Polestar cars.
Construction of the plant will begin in 2023 and operations will commence in 2025.
Volvo’s goal is to only sell fully electric cars by 2030.
“Our battery cell partnership with Northvolt is key to our strategic ambitions in electrification,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s chief executive.
The location of the new plant offers benefits in terms of a direct route to Volvo Cars’ largest car plant as well as its proximity to both Volvo Cars’ and Northvolt’s R&D units.
Currently, the production of Volvo’s batteries represents a large part of each car’s total lifecycle carbon emissions.
By producing batteries near its manufacturing facilities in Europe, both Volvo and Polestar can reduce the environmental footprint for their future cars.
Volvo has also said that the plant will only be powered by fossil-fuel free energy.
This is part of the company’s wider aim to focus on integrating engineering solutions that prioritise circularity and resource efficiency.
Javier Varela, head of engineering and operations at Volvo Cars, said: “Our new battery plant will support our ambition to have a fully climate-neutral manufacturing network and secure a supply of high-quality batteries for years to come.”
“Through our partnership with Northvolt, we will also benefit greatly from an end-to-end battery value chain, from raw material to complete car, ensuring optimal integration in our cars.”
Peter Carlsson, co-founder and chief executive of Northvolt, added: “Establishing this Gigafactory in Gothenburg is a decisive move, both to continue to transform one of the most dynamic automotive regions in the world, and to become the leading global supplier of sustainable batteries.”