Volkswagen partners with 3 firms for EV battery production, tech

MANILA: The Volkswagen Group has partnered with three more companies for electric vehicle battery technology and production. 

The VW Group's new partners are materials technology group Umicore, battery specialist 24M Technologies, and clean-technologies company Vulcan Energy Resources.

With Umicore, the German carmaker group will jointly produce materials for battery cells. The VW Group has invested in 24M for access in the dry coating process in battery cell production. Lastly, the company entered an agreement with Vulcan Energy for supply of zero-carbon lithium.

The VW Group said in a release that these three partnerships are independent from each other, but share a common goal: "The industrialization of battery technology and the volume production of even more sustainable, cutting-edge batteries."

These collaborations are part of the VW Group's technology roadmap for the in-house development and production of battery cells. In Europe alone, the Group plans to build six Gigafactories by 2030.

“Volkswagen is implementing its battery strategy very consistently and at a high pace. Volkswagen’s unified cell must be at the forefront of performance, costs and sustainability right from the start," Volkswagen Group Components CEO Thomas Schmall declared. 

In Volkswagen and Umicore's joint venture, the carmaker's European cell factories will be supplied with cathode materials.

With 24M, "the goal is to industrialize the 24M technology, a semi-solid process that is an improvement over the dry coating process" for battery production. The aim of this process is to reduce material usage and C02 emissions. 

Volkswagen and Vulcan Energy have signed an agreement about the supply of CO2-neutral lithium from the Upper Rhine Valley in Germany. The binding contract focuses on providing lithium hydroxide over a period of five years starting 2026. 

Photos from Volkswagen 

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