Gigafactory projects in Europe canceled
- The automotive industry in Europe and in most Asian countries is moving towards electric mobility. As a result, numerous plans have been announced for the construction of "gigafactories" to manufacture batteries for electric cars. Inovev, in its recent studies, projected the future demand for rechargeable vehicles (BEV and PHEV) and therefore calculated the need for batteries. This demand was put in relation to the recent announcements of production capacities of current and future gigafactories. We concluded that the European battery industry will face an overcapacity in Europe of almost 50% in 2030 if all projects are realized (2022-21 analysis). We have already pointed out that questions arise about this future overcapacity. Already, some projects have been stopped, others postponed, and still others are still pending. In this analysis, we will list these recent changes and their impact on production capacity.
- Farasis: Chinese supplier Farasis was originally supposed to build a battery cell factory for Daimler with a capacity of up to 16 GW in Bitterfeld- Wolfen (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany). After the plans were postponed several times, Daimler decided to take over production itself. Since the contract with the city of Bitterfeld was terminated, but Farasis still owns the land, the question remains as to where and when production of Daimler's battery project will begin.
- Britishvolt: The company wanted to build a battery production plant with a capacity of up to 35 GWh in Northumberland (UK). However, it seems to be struggling with financial problems. So far, only the start of production has been postponed from 2023 to 2025. If the problems are not resolved, the project could even be abandoned. So far, only letters of intent have been issued by Aston Martin and Lotus to cooperate (annual volume of around 10,000 vehicles). It is difficult to imagine that such a project can be realized, even more so with volumes as low as those of the customers.
- Varta: Due to rising costs and delays in orders, German battery manufacturer Varta will stop implementing its plans for its 10 GWh factory in Nördlingen (Bavaria, Germany) and will not proceed until it has received firm commitments from its customers. However, an initial factory for volume production has yet to come on stream, as one automaker, likely Porsche, has already committed as a customer. The factory was originally scheduled to begin volume production in 2023. At present, it looks to Inovev as if the project will not be expanded further.
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