Volvo will have a ‘home’ battery to debut in the next electric XC60

Towards a future for electric cars, Volvo Announced a strategic partnership with Northvolt that ranges from cell development, through the supply of batteries for electric vehicles to, at a later stage, its own in-house production.

The goal is to develop and co-produce the next generation of all-electric cars from the Volvo and Polestar brands in a sustainable way (100% renewable electricity facilities).

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The first step of this partnership will be the establishment of a new research and development center in Sweden, which will become operational in 2022. It will work with the latest battery cells and battery systems for Volvo and Polestar electric cars.

“The center’s goal is to leverage the battery expertise of both companies and develop advanced battery cells and vehicle integration technologies developed specifically for use in Volvo and Polestar cars.”

The second phase involves a supply agreement between Volvo Car Group and Northvolt for 15 GWh of battery cells per year, starting in 2024. These batteries will be produced at Northvolt’s Northvolt Ett battery plant in Skelleftea, Sweden, and we believe these cells already use the latest technology developed in the Joint Research and Development Center.

The final step in the plan is to establish a battery joint venture – essentially a giant factory that should produce up to 50 gigawatt-hours of cells per year. This future unit will also be located in Europe and will start operating in 2026.

Theoretically, a contract to supply 15 GWh plus the capacity of 50 GWh/year for the Giga plant will be sufficient Production of 650,000 electric cars annually With 100 kWh batteries (or even more if the batteries have a lower capacity).

“Together with previously announced battery supply agreements, the partnership with Northvolt will secure the needs of European battery cells that will drive Volvo’s ambitious electrification plans. Volvo Cars aims to sell 50% of pure electric vehicles by the middle of this decade and into 2030. Aiming to sell electric vehicles Just completely.”

“Partnering with Northvolt is central to Volvo Cars’ ambition to become a leader in premium electrification and sell pure electric vehicles by 2030. It also represents an important step in expanding the internal development efficiencies of the Volvo Cars group. Along with the partnerships. True tech pioneers.”

XC60 Electric 100% Confirmed

As we said recently, Volvo revealed that the first electric car to use the new jointly developed battery cells will be the all-electric successor to Volvo. Volvo XC60. It will likely be called the Volvo XC60 Recharge and will debut from 2024 onwards, exclusively as an electric car, without offering plug-in hybrid or combustion versions.

“The first car with battery cells developed through the joint venture will be the electric heir to Volvo Cars’ best-selling XC60.”

At the moment, all matters and the formation of the joint venture are still subject to final negotiations and agreements between the parties, including the final approval of the Board of Directors.