The Automotive Cells Company’s (ACC) first battery gigafactory in Billy-Berclau Douvrin, France, has been inaugurated by Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes-Benz. The facility is the first of three that ACC plans to open in Europe.
ACC plans for operations to begin at the site before the end of 2023, with an initial production line capacity of 13GWh, which is estimated to rise to 40GWh by 2030. The site will manufacture high-performance lithium-ion batteries with a minimal CO2 footprint.
Batteries produced at the site will contribute towards Stellantis’s target of increasing battery manufacturing capacity to 250GWh in Europe by 2030. Stellantis is targeting 400GWh of capacity by 2023 through five gigafactories in Europe and North America alongside other supply contracts.
“At the outset of this partnership in 2020, we agreed to an ambitious global timeline to develop electric vehicle batteries that would power our plan to electrify mobility,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO, Stellantis.
“As we execute our Dare Forward 2030 strategy and now move to hit our ambitious target of achieving carbon net zero by 2038, Stellantis is actively contributing to the European electrification transition with state-of-the-art EV solutions and supporting France’s crucial role in a sustainable future.
“I applaud every person involved in ACC for together we are building a strong coalition to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.”
Stellantis currently has 24 BEVs in market with a goal of 47 by the end of 2024. The manufacturer estimates it will have more than 75 BEV models globally by 2030, with international sales of 5 million.