MoU: Siemens Energy to purchase Freyr battery cells

The Norwegian company Freyr is planning a 32 GWh battery cell factory in Norway and has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Siemens Energy and Elkem each on the supply of cells and anode active materials.

Following the Swedish company Northvolt, another Nordic startup, Freyr, is planning to build battery cell factories in the gigawatt range. The plan is to build a cell factory with a capacity of 32 GWh per year in Rana, Norway. Freyr is aiming to use local hydro and wind power, which should reduce energy costs by 24 per cent. Completion is scheduled for 2023 but even before that, Freyr wants to build what they are calling ‘fast-track production plants‘ with a capacity of 2 GWh per year with its local site partner Mo Industrial Park.

The Norwegian company has now signed a letter of intent with Siemens for the supply of cells for marine applications and stationary energy storage. According to the agreement, Siemens Energy intends to purchase a significant portion of the volume from a fast-track production line, which is scheduled for commission in late 2021 or early 2022. The volume is to be significantly increased again when a second fast-track line is planned to open at the end of 2022 or early 2023. Both companies are planning to cooperate on the development of the construction of stationary storage systems.

Under the agreement, Freyr undertakes to supply battery cells at more competitive prices than other suppliers. “We expect to be able to deliver state-of-the-art battery cells at industry-leading cost for all market segments, and our expanded relationship with Siemens will allow us to accelerate and increase our ambitions further,” said company CEO Tom Einar Jensen. The lithium-ion cells manufactured in Rana should be equally suitable for the automotive market, maritime and stationary applications.

Freyr recently signed another memorandum of understanding with the Norwegian company Elkem. This MoU concerns the supply of anode active materials for the future Freyr factory. For its part, Elkem is planning a factory for the production of anode materials in Herøya Industrial Park. In addition to the supply agreement, the Memorandum of Understanding includes a joint commitment to develop and test new anode active materials.

“The market for better and greener batteries is growing rapidly. Elkem aims to take a competitive position in this market, contribute to a strong European battery industry and build new Norwegian export industry based on renewable hydropower,” says Stian Madshus, Vice President and General Manager Europe of Elkem Advanced Battery Materials. There is strong interest in this market from several battery cell manufacturers on the European continent and from the emerging battery industry in Norway.

Freyr, for his part, raised 130 million kroner (just under 12 million euros) from investors in the summer to prepare for the construction of the plant and finalize the plans for the fast-track facilities. The investors include the municipality of Rana, the regional investment company Helgeland Invest and 40 other investors, some of them private.

cision.com (Siemens), cision.com (Elkem)