Akasol signs battery supply deal with Turkish OEM
Akasol has been contracted by an unnamed commercial vehicle manufacturer from Turkey to supply its battery systems from 2021 to 2025. The customer plans to install Akasol’s second- and third-generation battery systems in an existing and in a new type of bus, it says.
According to Akasol, the freshly signed framework agreement has a total volume in the mid-double-digit million euro range. For the German battery systems manufacturer, the order means winning a “strategically important partner from the Middle East” and, at the same time, a growing market share in the electric bus sector. Akasol CEO Sven Schulz describes the deal as proof that the company is also competitive in cost-sensitive markets: “We are proud to have prevailed against strong European and Chinese competition.”
According to Akasol, the Turkish customer employs more than 3,000 people and produces about 12,000 commercial vehicles per year, most of which are sold in the Asian and Eastern European markets. After launching the first electric bus in its history in 2019, the company will launch another model with an electric powertrain in the fall of 2021, it said. For this one, Akasol will supply battery systems of the type AKASystem 15 OEM 50 PRC from the series production in Langen, which will start in the first quarter of 2021. Akasol will also contribute its third battery system generation for another electric bus model planned for 2023.
“The fact that the framework agreement already includes the transition to our new ultra-high-energy battery system is a strong vote of confidence in our extensive expertise in the field of high-performance Li-ion batteries. It also shows that another customer with operations worldwide now considers us a strategically reliable partner for the rapid electrification of its portfolio,” Schulz states. The Turkish market is becoming increasingly important for Akasol. In 2019, the company says it has already delivered prototypes to another leading commercial vehicle manufacturer from Turkey. Negotiations are currently underway to expand the cooperation, says Schulz “The framework agreement with the Turkish bus and commercial vehicle manufacturer is an important step for us into the Asian and Eastern European region, where the electrification trend is increasingly gaining momentum. In addition, there could be cross-selling potential in the future if the customer also electrifies other segments of its product portfolio.”
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