Daimler subsidiary ACCUMOTIVE begins construction of second Li-ion factory; batteries for 1st EQ model, 48V systems
24 October 2016
Daimler subsidiary ACCUMOTIVE has begun construction of a second Li-ion battery factory at its site in Kamenz. With an investment of about €500 million (US$545 million), the site in Kamenz will be one of the biggest and most modern battery factories in Europe.
The new production facility is planned to start operations in the middle of 2018. The area of about 20 hectares is located in immediate proximity of the existing battery factory in Kamenz, about 50 kilometers from Dresden. With the construction of the second facility, the production and logistics area will be quadrupled to about 80,000 square meters. The workforce will double by the end of this decade.
By 2025, our passenger car product portfolio will contain more than ten fully electric vehicles. At the same time, we are continuously pushing our plug-in-hybrid offensive and the introduction of 48-volt-systems. Highly efficient battery systems are an important aspect of our strategy. They are an integral part of the vehicle architecture and not a ready-made product. The development, production and integration of those complex systems into our vehicles is one of our core competences.
—Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development
Daimler already has a variety of electrified vehicles on the market and the product portfolio is set to grow continuously. At the Paris auto show, Mercedes-Benz presented its new product brand for electromobility, EQ. (earlier post), which will offer a comprehensive electromobile ecosystem consisting of products, services, technologies and innovations.
Forerunner of the new brand is the “EQ”-Showcar that made its world debut in Paris. Series production of the EQ with a range of up to 500 kilometers (311 miles) will start within this decade in the SUV segment. A model offensive will follow subsequently, complementing the portfolio of Mercedes-Benz Cars with electrified models. ACCUMOTIVE will deliver the batteries for the first EQ production model.
Daimler is investing a total of €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) into the global production of battery systems.
We are building a global production compound for lithium-ion batteries. Kamenz will become the competence center of this compound. With the new battery factory, the flexible and efficient production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars deepens crucial know-how for the production of promising future technologies. This also strengthens our global competitiveness and puts us in a very good position concerning future mobility
—Markus Schäfe, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management
The Kamenz site started producing Li-ion batteries for Mercedes-Benz and smart iin 2012, and recently added the production of stationary energy storage systems.
The new plant will be constructed as a CO2-neutral factory. Production facilities will be powered by a cogeneration unit and a photovoltaic system combined with stationary energy storage systems. Solar modules with the surface of two football fields will be installed on the rooftop of the new production building. This equals a capacity of 2 megawatts. The new battery factory will also be benchmark for Industry 4.0.
In the future, Kamenz will produce lithium-ion batteries for all electrified vehicles of Mercedes-Benz and smart—including plug-in hybrids as well as fully electric vehicles. On top of that, Kamenz will produce batteries for stationary Mercedes-Benz energy storage units as well as 48-volt-systems. The 48-volt-system will gradually be integrated into different model ranges.
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