Enclosed an article about an own battery cell production in...

Enclosed an article about an own battery cell production in Germany

My call: The pressure from politics and unions to industrialize such a production in Germany is very high, we'll see a positive decision for such a production somewhere in the eastern part of Germany in the coming months....

http://www.manager-magazin.de/unter...rankfurt-vws-batterie-buendnis-a-1167489.html

Europe's largest Autobauer Volkswagen stock market chart shows the debate about the production of battery cells for electric cars in Europe new. In view of the enormous investment in electric mobility, the Wolfsburgers are proposing to pool the forces in Europe. The aim is to show the boundaries of the dominant Asian suppliers. "From my point of view, it would be desirable for German and European industry to be more involved in the field," said Volkswagen brand manager Herbert Diess of the Reuters news agency on Wednesday in an interview at the Automesse IAA in Frankfurt.


He is thus struck openly by the VDA industry association and by Daimler's Stuttgart stock exchange. Both did not exclude a domestic battery cell production with a view to the next generation of cells, which is still in the process of research.

Diess said the production of battery cells for electric cars was one of the major growth areas of the next decades and should not be left to the Asian suppliers. "There will be hardly any fields where one can grow faster if one is competent to build industrial plants." The Trademarkchef left open whether Volkswagen itself would participate in a battery cell production.

He said that for the first phase in which electric mobility would be driven, VW would be sufficiently supplied with battery cells thanks to long-term contracts from its suppliers from South Korea. "But I would like to see the competition grow and a European consortium emerge."

The current lithium-ion cells are considered to be too heavy and expensive to make a breakthrough in electromobility. More powerful batteries at significantly lower costs are expected to be available only at the beginning of the next decade.

Daimler already started its own cell production

VDA President Matthias Wissmann and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche made a domestic battery cell production dependent on the technological development. "Whoever calls for commodities, which already exist in Europe to produce much higher energy costs, will not find spontaneous acceptance," Wissmann said. However, the question arises when lithium-ion cells are followed by lithium-air, lithium-sulfur or solid-state chemistry. "If there is such a concept and our major research efforts lead to it, it is highly likely that manufacturers and suppliers will implement such a concept individually or together."

Also the Autobauer Daimler stock chart show, which their own cell production two years ago because of the lack of competitiveness against the Asians stopped, cautiously thinks about a restart. "If a breakthrough succeeds in our house or somewhere else ... it may be that there is a new game where we have chances to build a competitive position," said Zetsche.

The world's largest car supplier Bosch wants to decide by the beginning of next year whether he dared a billionaire investment in the cell production.

Electric offensive from VW: 80 new models

The VW Group with its twelve brands has announced in its electric car offensive "Roadmap E", the investment in the electromobility in the coming years to massively increase. By 2030 the Wolfsburgers want to spend more than 20 billion euros, twice as much as planned so far. By 2025, 80 new electric models will be launched, including around 50 pure battery-powered vehicles and 30 plug-in hybrids. 50 billion euro investments are also planned for new battery capacities.

Alone on the main VW brand, 23 of them are pure battery models. The rivals Daimler and BMW are also fleeing in the face of the diesel crisis and the threat of driving bans and are planning to expand their range of e-mobiles significantly in the coming years.

In order to meet the enormous demand for batteries for the increasing number of electric cars, capacities have to be drastically expanded in the coming years. Volkswagen alone assumes that its electromodels will require at least four "gigafabrics" for battery cells. In order to shoulder this, the Group is looking for partners in Europe, China and North America.

"Can not make many mistakes"

Volkswagen will test the production of battery cells and modules at the Salzgitter engine plant next year - initially in small quantities under laboratory conditions, later on a pilot plant. This is how the Lower Saxony experience will gather in order to decide later whether they are entering into the production of large quantities. Group CEO Matthias Müller wants to make battery technology a core competence of VW. To date, Volkswagen has been purchasing batteries from the Korean manufacturer, Samsung, for example for the E-Golf.

Diess made it clear that, despite the high investment in electric mobility, VW maintained its long-term return targets. By 2020, the VW brand is planning an operating margin of at least four percent. "We are generating just enough cash to shoulder the investment but still have very little leeway," the former BMW manager said. "We must not make many mistakes." The goal of a return of 6% for 2025 remains the same. "There is also no reason to let go of that."

by Jan Schwartz and Andreas Cremer, Reuters