Battery maker ProLogium to gradually ramp up French plant amid slow EV sales

PARIS : Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium Abilities Co plans to gradually ramp up its 5.2 billion euro ($5.7 billion) manufacturing facility in France because it looks to increase efficiency and responds to a slowdown in EV gross sales, its CEO told Reuters.

Privately-held ProLogium, in which Mercedes-Benz is an investor, is reckoning on its subsequent-generation skills to be stunning to automakers even amid a market slowdown, with gross sales of most up-to-date EV vehicles in the EU down 12 per cent in Will also just.

“We carry out now not desire to prolong too rapidly,” CEO Vincent Yang stated in an interview on the World Materials Forum in Paris. “This may perhaps occasionally likely perhaps perhaps depend on the automakers.”

Several battery makers in Europe contain curbed growth plans as shoppers look forward to extra cheap devices. Sweden’s Northvolt for example last week launched a strategic analysis.

ProLogium’s gigafactory, deliberate to be constructed in Dunkirk, northern France, and backed by French authorities funding, is peaceable now not off tune to launch construction leisurely this 365 days or early in 2025 and to launch production in 2027, Yang added.

The ideal potential of the Dunkirk plant is resulting from be 48 gigawatt hours GWh, but this may perhaps occasionally in the foundation launch at 2-4 GWh and sure lift to 8-16 GWh by 2030, he stated.

Moreover assessing orders from automakers, ProLogium will increase the plant’s efficiency, with four successive versions of the battery to be rolled out by 2032, when tubby potential is resulting from be hit, he stated.

ProLogium believes its new skills the usage of a ceramic separator, silicon anode and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cathode may perhaps be in demand resulting from its immediate charging times and high density.

Yang stated a 5-minute trace of its battery would offer a using differ of 300 km, when put next with Half-hour for a same distance for a customary lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.

ProLogium’s new battery is a partly sturdy-yell make utilising a few of the benefits of the sturdy-yell skills that has been held up as a game changer for EVs, but has been fraught with technical problems.

“We may perhaps perhaps perhaps additionally carry out both pure sturdy-yell and semi-sturdy yell, but there are trace problems,” Yang stated.

The ProLogium battery is extra costly than an LFP battery, costing about $170 per kilowatt hour (kWh) versus $100-$115 for LFP, however the pack trace for a automobile is handiest rather extra for the explanation that battery is smaller and lighter, he added.

($1 = 0.9184 euros)