SVOLT, the Chinese battery cell manufacturer that originated from Great Wall Motors, has commenced the establishment of a plant in Thailand dedicated to the assembly of battery modules and packs for electric and hybrid vehicles. The completion of the facility is scheduled for later this year.
As per the information obtained from CN EV Post, the plan encompasses the installation of two production lines: one for the production of battery modules and another for the assembly of battery packs. The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 60,000 units. While SVOLT will continue to supply batteries to its current customers like Great Wall Motor and Hozon, the company is also engaged in negotiations with potential new customers in Thailand.
Rather than constructing a new facility from scratch, SVOLT has opted to convert a locally leased facility, which accounts for the relatively short timeframe between the start of construction and the anticipated completion within six months. The battery modules manufactured in Thailand will be utilized in full hybrids, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and battery-electric vehicles.
Although SVOLT has not disclosed the exact investment amount, local media outlet Cailian had previously mentioned an investment sum of $30 million last month.
At present, SVOLT operates eleven production sites in China and plans to establish five battery cell factories in Europe. The company’s overarching objective is to achieve a production capacity of at least 50 gigawatt-hours in Europe by the end of the decade.
SVOLT has already announced two sites in Germany, one of which is set to supply Stellantis starting from 2025. The conversion of an existing facility into a 12-gigawatt plant in Lauchhammer, Brandenburg, is presently in progress. On the other hand, the construction of a planned €2 billion factory in Saarland has been delayed until at least 2027 due to local protests. Nonetheless, SVOLT has secured the lease for its future assembly factory for battery modules and packs at the Heusweiler site in Saarland in December. However, this particular facility does not fall under the category of the potential five production sites in Europe where battery cells will be manufactured.
In a separate development, SVOLT recently introduced a groundbreaking battery pack innovation called the ‘Dragon Armor Battery.’ This advanced battery pack, available for global pre-orders since December, is designed to enhance safety and enable greater driving range. Unlike BYD’s Blade battery and CATL’s Qilin battery, SVOLT’s Dragon Armor Battery does not involve a new cell chemistry with higher energy density but instead features a newly designed battery pack. Depending on the specific cell chemistry utilized in the Dragon Armor Battery, vehicles equipped with this technology are expected to achieve ranges of over 800 kilometers (for LFP cells) and over 1,000 kilometers (for NCM cells). The first production models incorporating the Dragon Armor Battery are projected to be released in 2023.
