Green Revolution: How renewable energy is fuelling sustainable automotive manufacturing Adopting renewable energy in automotive production requires a comprehensive strategy, integrating solar, wind, biogas and electric solutions to drive sustainability and mitigate environmental impact effectively. OEMs, strategies and technologies are converging on different approaches to achieve sustainability goals across regions. Here are some notweworthy projects to keep an eye on… Ilkhan Ozsevim
Sweden’s Northvolt selects Quebec, Canada, as the location for first Gigafactory outside of Europe The multibillion dollar gigafactory is a significant move for the Swedish battery developer and manufacturer, and will advance sustainable lithium-ion battery production to accelerate sustainable EV output for the North American region with government support. Ilkhan Ozsevim
Gigafactories give N. America, Europe more skin in EV game but minerals supply a worry Forecasts for sustained growth in annual global EV sales suggest a minerals supply crunch in the latter half of this decade. Peter Murphy
Europe’s biggest EV battery recycling plant starts work Hydrovolt, the biggest EV battery recycling facility in Europe has started operations in Norway, the owners of the joint venture, battery producer Northvolt and aluminum and energy company Hydro, announced on May 16 Peter Murphy
Interview: Scania’s super charge to battery assembly Tony Persson, head of battery production, reveals how the Traton Group truckmaker is preparing to launch battery module assembly in half the time it would normally have for manufacturing launches, and the innovation in assembly and digitalisation that will support it. Christopher Ludwig
Volvo’s mega changemaker Javier Varela, senior vice-president of engineering and operations, is leading Volvo Cars’ industrial transformation, from platform engineering through to vehicle production. He explains key steps in the carmaker’s ramp up in EV and battery output, and how it will achieve ambitious sustainability targets Nick Holt Claas Alexander Stroh
The die is cast for Volvo’s future EV production One of the key pillars of Volvo’s investment in electric vehicles will be the application of aluminium megacasting to produce large structural parts. Mikael Fermér, solution architect for vehicle platforms at Volvo Cars, explains the significance of this change for EV production. Nick Holt Christopher Ludwig
EV battery supply chains on the move As electric vehicles become serious business for OEMs, they are reassessing their battery supply and manufacturing bases, putting their eggs in multiple baskets and taking more control of the process. Illya Verpraet Daniel Harrison
OEM and lithium-ion battery cell supplier database Keep up with changing supplier relationships between electric vehicle manufacturers and battery cell suppliers in this database by powertrain type (battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, mild and full hybrid electric vehicles, and commercial electric vehicles). Automotive from Ultima Media
Electric vehicle battery supply chain analysis 2021: How lithium-ion battery demand and production are reshaping the automotive industry Download this report for forecasts of electric vehicle lithium-ion battery demand, analysis of battery cell gigafactory locations and insight on global EV battery manufacturing and supply chain management. Daniel Harrison Christopher Ludwig
VW to have 240 GWh of battery plants in Europe by 2030 Volkswagen Group plans to significantly increase battery cell production capacity and reshape the EV battery supply chain in Europe, with plans to have six ‘gigafactories’ by the end of the decade – including an expansion of its partnership with Sweden’s Northvolt. Marcus Williams
Carmakers pledge to switch to all-electric vehicles The wave of electrification is slowly turning into a tsunami, in Europe at least. Illya Verpraet takes a look at some of the big manufacturing plans in 2021 Illya Verpraet
Ford Europe invests $1 billion in Cologne for EV production After JLR, Ford has also announced that all its vehicles for sale in Europe will be pure-electric by 2030. It is investing $1 billion in its Cologne (Köln) plant to make that a reality. This move will be supported by the sharing of the VW Group’s MEB electric vehicle platform. Illya Verpraet
German carmakers race to secure European battery cell production The millions of electric vehicles being produced also need millions of batteries. But where do the German manufacturers source their cells from? Werner Beutnagel Illya Verpraet
Sustainability at the core of leadership at Scania and ArcelorMittal At last week’s inaugural AMS livestream, Scania’s Mathias Wijkström was joined by ArcelorMittal’s Hugo Da Gama Campos to discuss making automotive production greener and how it is vital to put sustainability at the heart of the production system. Illya Verpraet
Scania to build battery plant and research centre in Sweden Truck and bus manufacturer Scania plans to build a battery assembly plant at its headquarters and main production location in Södertälje, Sweden Illya Verpraet
Aluminium-air: a better power source for EVs? The deficiencies of Li-ion batteries contribute to consumer doubts about EVs, but switching to a different type of technology – Al-air fuel cells – could solve crucial problems By Richard Brown
A European battery gigafactory … someday, somewhere As OEMs continue to push the scale and variety of their electrified vehicle ranges, Ian Henry asks, is battery production and supply up to the task? Ian Henry
Volkswagen electric vehicles - the next chapter Factories that make vehicles with internal combustion engines could soon be making electric vehicles. Volkswagen has already started the transition at one of its plants. Michael Nash investigates Michael Nash
