EV battery factory nearly ready in France

France’s first EV battery factory will cater for an estimated rise in EV demand to 17.4 million units in Europe by 2030, says GlobalData.

The first Billy-Berclau Gigafactory block in northern France will be operational by the end of 2023, with a ramp-up scheduled to be completed by late 2024, says owner Automotive Cells Company (ACC) – a partnership of TotalEnergies and Stellantis and joined by Germany’s Mercedes-Benz in 2022.

With an initial production capacity of 13GWh and an expected capacity of 40GWh by 2030, the factory will manufacture high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

“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,” says GlobalData automotive senior analyst Sumit Das.

“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,” he explains. 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) intend shifting from internal combustion engines (ICE) 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% during 2022-30,” says Das.

“In addition, the Europe advanced automotive batteries market including li-ion batteries for BEVs and HEVs 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 250GWh by 2030,” Das adds.

In 2022, Stellantis captured a 19% market share of the total European automotive market and is increasing its presence in the region by introducing new models.

The company aims to introduce 74 new BEVs by the end of this decade.