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VW plans giga-factories for battery cells and presents good figures
The automobile manufacturer Volkswagen has announced plans at a virtual event ahead of its annual press conference, under the programmatic motto "Power Day," to set up additional cell productions beyond the existing battery productions. Along with its Swedish joint-venture partner Northvolt, four more, and thus a total of six locations are to form a network of battery cell productions over the next few years, thereby increasing the company's value creation in the key area of electromobility, second only to software.
No specific phase-out date: Combustion engines finance electric vehicles
Due to "higher demand," it was decided to restructure the previously planned cell production, thus justifying the strategic expansion. This also represents a focus on battery-electric mobility, estimated to cost twelve billion euros solely for the battery factories. Hydrogen, synfuels, or the diesel engine played no role in outlining the strategy for the next decade, even though the company is shying away from specifying a phase-out date and still needs combustion engines for the time being, as VW brand CEO Ralf Brandstätter recently explained. He also emphasized at the annual press conference that the phase-out of combustion engines would proceed at different speeds worldwide, aiming to be completed by around 2040. "We have to earn our future," he stated.
All in on BEV: Synfuels and hydrogen play a minor role
This is not necessarily required, as the internal technology leader Audi has already announced it plans to exit the development of new diesel and gasoline engines in two or three years. According to Diess, the "profitable combustion engine business" is intended to allow financing "the transition." This sounds plausible given the 9.3 million cars and trucks sold, 223 billion euros in revenue, and 10.6 billion euros in profit for the entire group, far better than feared. In the first two months of 2021, 15,500 BEVs were delivered worldwide despite the corona-related restrictions in many markets - an increase of 51 percent compared to the previous year. In Germany, this figure even saw a 143 percent increase. For hybrids, with 16,300 PHEVs delivered, the global increase was 174 percent, and in Germany 291 percent. "We have successfully set the course for electromobility," said VW brand chief Ralf Brandstätter, adding, "Electromobility will become the norm." And his CEO Herbert Diess emphasized this right from the start.
“Let me make one thing clear. The battery has won the race,” Diess explained once again.
Battery-electric drives are the “only remaining option to make transport CO2-free,” stated the VW CEO.
“E-mobility has become our core business. We are now systematically integrating further stages into our value chain. We are securing a long-term pole position in the race for the best battery and the best customer experience in the era of emission-free mobility,” proclaimed Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group.
With this, they aim to reduce dependency on Far Eastern suppliers, but above all also to compete with the Californian e-car pioneer Tesla, which has announced the construction of the world's largest battery factory in Brandenburg, alongside a car manufacturing plant currently under construction. Volkswagen is currently building its first own battery factory in Salzgitter, with another site to be established in Skellefteå, Sweden by 2023, followed by four more sites.
"By 2030, together with partners, we want to put a total of six cell factories into operation in Europe to guarantee supply security," explains Thomas Schmall, who, as Board Member for the Technology Division of Volkswagen AG and Chairman of the Volkswagen Group Components, is cross-brand responsible for the new technology roadmap of the Group.
The new plants should produce cells with a total energy value of 240 gigawatt-hours per year at full capacity. This should also make the Group's electric models more affordable. Especially since a "unified cell" is planned, which should help reduce the cost of the still very expensive storage component. This should already be installed in 80 percent of all Group models by 2030. Through synergies and unified technology, battery costs in the entry-level segment are expected to be reduced by 50 percent and by 30 percent in the volume segment.
Prismatic Perspective: Best Option for Transition to Solid-State Cell
In addition to cost advantages, Wolfsburg is also waiting for progress in storage capacity and fast-charging capability. According to the Lower Saxony engineers, the new prismatic unified cell offers the best conditions for the transition to the solid-state cell, which is referred to as the "next quantum leap in battery technology" and is expected at Volkswagen by the middle of the decade.
"Our goal is to reduce the cost and complexity of the battery while simultaneously increasing its range and performance," stated Technology Board Member Thomas Schmall.
The scale advantages will also be utilized for the benefit of customers. On average, Schmall wants to get the costs for battery systems down to well below 100 euros per kilowatt-hour.
"This will make e-mobility definitively affordable and the dominant drive technology," believes Thomas Schmall.
Against the Bottleneck: The Charging Infrastructure Should Also Grow Faster
At the same time, they announced further investments in the critical external component: The charging infrastructure should grow rapidly, thanks in part to cooperation with oil companies, among others. By 2025, around 18,000 public ultra-fast charging points are expected to be established. Europe-wide, around 8,000 rapid charging points will be set up alongside the IONITY joint venture with BP. The rapid chargers with a charging power of 150 kW will be installed at a total of 4,000 BP and ARAL gas stations, the majority of them in Germany and the UK.
In Spain, cooperation with Iberdrola will primarily open up the main traffic routes. In Italy, Wolfsburg wants to cooperate with Enel to expand the fast-charging network both on highways and in urban areas. The Group will invest around 400 million euros in the overall program in Europe by 2025. Further amounts will be covered by external partners, according to the announcement. The public fast-charging network is also being expanded in the USA and China. Electrify America plans to have around 3,500 fast-charging points in North America by the end of the year. In China, the people from Lower Saxony are planning a total of 17,000 fast-charging points by 2025 through the CAMS joint venture.
Hardware Should Be Accompanied by Software
The greatest challenge for the Group undoubtedly lies in digitization, as Brand Chief Ralf Brandstätter emphasized at the annual press conference. With the already presented strategy program Accelerate and the independent unit CarSoftware.Org, they aim to gain ground faster and consolidate the strength of the 15 individual software companies in the Group. This unit, with a targeted 10,000 employees, will be the second-largest software company in Europe after SAP, they announced confidently. Meanwhile, supplier Bosch already employs 17,000 developers in the software segment. By 2025, 60 percent of the lines of code should be self-written; currently, it stands at a meager ten percent. In 2024, there will be a proprietary VW operating system, and based on this, by 2025, the first autonomous driving VW model, the ID.Buzz, will be operating.
Translated automatically from German.
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