A gigafactory is a massive factory that produces lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), energy storage and other battery-powered devices on a gigantic scale.
The term was coined by Tesla founder Elon Musk to refer to his factories, of which there are 4 currently built and a 5th underway. But in common parlance, the word has expanded to include any large-scale battery factory (not just Musk’s).
Why is it called a gigafactory?
The word gigafactory comes from the notion of a gigawatt, or one billion watts.
And one billion watts is enough energy to power 700,000 homes for an entire year!
So technically speaking, a gigafactory is a battery factory capable of producing more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of continuous power per year. However, most gigafactories around the world are producing between 10-30x this amount as you can see by the chart below.
Ranking of the largest lithium-ion battery factories worldwide in 2020, by production capacity
Why are gigafactories important?
Gigafactories are important because they create jobs, reduce the cost of solar panels and electric cars, and drive innovation in renewable energy.
For example, Imperium3 New York (iM3NY) is an Endicott, New York-based battery production facility that recently received a federal grant with help from Chuck Schumer, the US Senate Majority Leader representing New York (our company, Magnis Energy is the majority shareholder in this project).
iM3NY founder and Chairman Dr. Shailesh Upreti describes his project as ‘the world’s greenest gigafactory’[AN1] thanks to their use of hydropower to power the plant.
Dr. Upreti believes that green chemistry and engineering principles should be applied at every scale from design to disposal. This belief has led him to set ambitious ethos targets: one hundred percent renewable energy for all operations.
Additionally, Upreti expects the project will employ 150 people and indirectly bring additional 200+ jobs to Endicott within the next 12-18 months as production ramps up.
With Dr. Upreti’s mentor and colleague Nobel Laureate Dr. Stan Whittingham on the board, iM3NY is in good hands. Dr. Wittingham’s early work on lithium-ion batteries earned him a Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2019 and the moniker ‘father of the lithium battery’.
How many gigafactories are there in the world?
Our best guess, based on what we know, is that there are more than 200 gigafactories built or soon to be built around the world.
Since the first ever gigafactory began production in 2016 (Tesla), more and more gigafactories are popping up everywhere at breakneck pace.
Keep in mind that these factories not only take years to build (they are massive), but they also take a long time to fit out and become production-ready for commercial use.
Therefore, many of the world’s gigafactories are at varying stages of completion, with some already fully operational, some currently under construction and others being planned.
We’ll try to give an accurate count of how many gigafactories presently exist or are in the works in various countries.
China: 156 gigafactories
China appears to have more gigafactories than any country in the world. There were an estimated 156 gigafactories in China as of May 2021.
With a unwavering policy focus on scaling renewable energy production, a robust industrial infrastructure, and a massive population that needs sustainable energy, China is mounting a major push to produce batteries domestically as quickly as possible to reduce reliance on imports from countries such as South Korea or Japan.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that China has more gigafactories than any other country in the world.
Europe: 38 gigafactories
Like China, many European governments are incentivising the uptake of EVs by offering consumer subsidies and manufacturing incentives.
In a previous article, we explained that in 2020 Europe outpaced world leader China in the uptake of EVs thanks to an increase in government incentives. China also has incentives in place, but scaled them back slightly in 2020, leading to a slow down last year. You can see the effects of these differences in the chart below.
To handle the demand, Europe has taken the next logical step of boosting battery production. Now, throughout Europe and the UK, 38 gigafactories are either planned or under construction.
Global EV registrations and market share, 2015-2020
USA: 18 gigafactories
Despite being the country where Elon Musk pioneered the development of EVs and gigafactories, the US lags behind China and Europe.
This can be attributed, in part, to the lack of enthusiasm among lawmakers to incentivise renewable energy and EV uptake. Until recently, only a few states like California had their own incentive schemes.
However, EV uptake, and thereby gigafactory production, may accelerate in the coming years thanks to a brand new federal incentivesigned into law by President Joe Biden.
In addition to iM3NY’s gigafactory and the four US-based Tesla factories, it’s estimated there are 13 more on the way – bringing the total to 18 gigafactories in the United States.
Other countries: ?
There isn’t a lot of info about how many gigafactories have been built or proposed in most other countries, but there’s at least one in South Korea – while Australia, Japan and India all appear to have plans underway for their own gigafactories.
What does the future of gigafactories look like?
More and more countries are incentivising EVs specifically and battery power in general, and it’s clear by looking at China and Europe that these policies are working overtime to boost battery production – and by extension gigafactory construction. If US consumers and policymakers get on board, this will only accelerate.
Plus, we’ll eventually reach a tipping point where enough consumers have purchased EVs, solar home units and other battery-powered devices that government incentives will no longer be necessary to fuel growth.
So even if governments around the world scale back their incentive programs, we will continue to see a huge surge in gigafactory construction in the years and decades to come.
Bottom line
The future of gigafactory technology looks promising as more countries invest in this type of manufacturing process to produce cleaner sources of power for their citizens.
What does it mean to have an environmentally conscious country?
It means that you can expect lower levels of pollution, less carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and subsequently higher quality air quality overall.
Oh, and more jobs in a burgeoning sector.
With all these benefits on offer, what is there left to lose by investing in green technologies like solar panels or electric cars?
