The production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, which will start in the second half of 2024, will employ at least 3,000 employees on an area of 1 million square meters. This is the ambitious goal set by the Italian company “Italvolt” , founded by Swedish entrepreneur Lars Karlström. It will become a reality after the finalization of the startup project for a gigafactory in the former Olivetti site in Scarmanio (Turin), writes the Italian newspaper “Money”, quoted by BTA.
The term “gigafactory” has recently been used to refer to the most innovative plants for the production of batteries needed for electric vehicles.
The Gigafactory in the Italian region of Piedmont will be the largest of its kind in Europe and will have a production capacity of 45 gigawatts, which can be increased to 70 gigawatts. The investment is for 3.4 billion euros.
The facility, which will be built in the former industrial zone of the city of Ivrea, will be used for the production and storage of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The startup Italvolt acquired the land in September 2021 from the Monteverdi Fund, managed by Prelios (a real estate company, a former division of Pirelli).
Olivetti is currently part of Telecom Italia and since 2020 has focused on the Internet of Things (the concept of a computer network of physical objects with built-in electronic devices to interact with each other or with the environment. ) and on the analysis of large – scale data, ie technologies that help to extract the essential from the heterogeneous data that “inhabit” the web space. The site in Scarmanio was built between 1962 and 1964 and the small municipality north of Turin was chosen because of the convenient road and rail connections it has, both with Ivrea and with the capital of the Piedmont region – Turin.
The company of the Swedish entrepreneur stopped at the former facility of the Olivetti Group after an in-depth analysis and the implementation of the project was accompanied by eight months of negotiations with various local and national institutions. Karlström does not hide his satisfaction with the site askanews.it, talking about the reasons that prompted him to invest in Italy.
The Italian North is of strategic importance for the control of the whole of Southern Europe, where there are no gigafactory projects to date, Karlström notes. Looking ahead, we must keep in mind that with the development of electric cars, the demand for batteries will exceed the supply. We cannot rely on Asian production alone because of the issue of logistics: transport generates pollution. In 2024, when we start production with a capacity of 45 gigawatt hours, we will be able to produce from 400,000 to 700,000 batteries per year. They will increase when we reach a full capacity of 70 gigawatt hours, predicts the head of “Italvolt”.
Karlström welcomed the great reception from the Italian institutions, emphasizing that Italy has excellent opportunities and all prospects to become a leading force in the energy transition and the “green” economy. In Italy he met with much greater support and interest than expected than in England.
To develop the gigafactory project, Italvolt has partnered with Comau (a manufacturer of robotic automotive machines). He will deal with the facilities for the production of batteries, and the automotive design giant Pininfarina will oversee the construction of the plant. We have found partners and suppliers with excellent experience. We have probably found the most effective way to build a gigafactory, said the Swedish entrepreneur. In this respect, we are innovators, and with us – Italy, he said in front of the online edition.
Central to the project will be cooperation with universities such as the Polytechnic of Turin, which is jointly developing batteries. The giga factory will not only produce car batteries, but will also accumulate energy from renewable sources.
To fund his Italian project, Karlström promised in February to part with his stake in the British company Britishvolt, which he set up to build a 35-gigawatt-hour giga factory in Blythe, Northumberland, where he no longer manages roles. In March, the British startup of the Swedish entrepreneur signed a partnership agreement with the luxury car company Aston Martin in order to develop high-performance battery technology. I will focus on Italy and Italvolt, where I have invested 5 million euros so far, and I will be president and CEO, he said at the time.
The gigafactory attracts many investors, and the idea is for the company and the board to be entirely Italian. The same goes for suppliers.
The Swedish entrepreneur is also closely monitoring the alliance between France and Germany for synergy in the production of batteries – Battery Alliance.
I know the union very well and I will be happy to be part of it. Our partner Komau even has a place on the board, so it is as if we are part of it, although we want to participate fully, Karlström commented. Among the potential clients of Italvot stands out the name of “Stellantis”, which controls “Komau”. We met with representatives of Stelantis and informed them about what we are doing. However, there is currently no specific agreement. We will be happy to make batteries for them, this is very important for us, but we also keep in touch with other car manufacturers, said the head of Italvolt.
Lars Kalström is not satisfied with Italy and Great Britain. The developer has already announced the construction of another factory for batteries for the automotive industry, this time in the United States. The new company, Statevolt, will build its facility in the Imperial Valley in the state of California and it will have a capacity of 54 gigawatt hours per year, which will be enough for about 650,000 electric vehicles.
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