France’s first EV battery factory opens

Following the news that France has opened its first electric vehicle battery factory in Billy-Berclau in the northern region of the country, Sumit Das, senior analyst, Automotive at GlobalData, says: “France’s first EV battery gigafactory will provide a base to step up the production of batteries and electric vehicles as the European Union has set a 2035 deadline to phase out the sale of new fossil fuel cars.

“The gigafactory in the Hauts-de-France region is owned by Automotive Cells Company (ACC), which is a partnership of TotalEnergies and automobiles company Stellantis and joined by Germany’s Mercedes-Benz in 2022. With an initial production capacity of 13 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and an expected capacity of 40GWh by 2030, the factory will manufacture high-performance lithium-ion batteries, and will cater to estimated rise in EV demand to 17.4 million units in Europe by 2030, Globaldata  estimates.”

Sumit Das continues: “Customers have now become much more conscious about environment and sustainability, and the demand for vehicles with low/no carbon emissions and new features is on the rise. Automakers are also facing regulatory pressures to produce greener vehicles and are forced to adopt a high sustainability vision with an aim to develop a green supply chain. To achieve this, various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have already put their plans in motion to shift from internal combustion engines to electric and hybrid vehicles.

“As per the GlobalData estimates, the European EV market, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid vehicles (HEVs), will reach 17.37 million units by 2030, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16 per cent during 2022-30. In addition, the Europe advanced automotive batteries market including Li-ion batteries for BEVs and HEV’s is estimated to be 16.83 million units by 2030.

“The gigafactory is expected to contribute to Stellantis’ goal of increasing its battery capacity in Europe to 250 GWh by 2030. In 2022, Stellantis captured a 19 per cent market share of the total European automotive market and is increasing its presence in the region by introducing new models. The company is targeting to introduce 74 new BEVs by the end of this decade.”