The gigafactory will start production of unified cells in 2026 and will directly employ more than 3,000 people

PowerCo Valencia gigafactory

PowerCo has announced the start of construction for its second cell factory, located in Valencia, Spain.

The gigafactory will start production of unified cells in 2026 and will directly employ more than 3,000 people in the future.

Volkswagen Group launched battery cell-making company PowerCo in July 2022, and since then the company has decided three sites for cell factories: Salzgitter, Valencia and St. Thomas in Ontario, with two of them already under construction.

The St. Thomas plant, which will be PowerCo’s first cell factory in North America, will produce sustainable unified cells, with the start of production planned for 2027.

Thomas Schmall, board of management member responsible for group technology and chairman of the supervisory board of PowerCo SE, said: “We are moving into the fast lane with PowerCo.

“We have just broken ground for PowerCo’s second gigafactory in Valencia, and are already making the next step with the announcement of another gigafactory in St. Thomas, Canada.

“Our objective is to make PowerCo a global player in the battery business and pave the way for better mobility with sustainably manufactured battery cells. The gigafactory Valencia is an important milestone in that.”

The annual production capacity of the Valencia plant will initially be 40 GWh but has the potential to be expanded to 60 GWh in future. The cell factory is being built over an area of around 130 hectares in Sagunto, in the immediate vicinity of Valencia.

The gigafactory will supply unified cells to the vehicle plants in Martorell and Pamplona, among others.