Foxconn announces supply agreement for LFP batteries
Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturer contracted by Apple among many others, is cooperating with the companies Giga Solar Materials, Long Time Technology and China Steel Chemical to develop anode materials for lithium iron phosphate batteries. The new batteries are to be used for the first time in electric buses from 2023.
The planned cooperation between the aforementioned players is based on a recently signed memorandum of understanding. The aim of the cooperation is to “accelerate the development of anode materials for the next generation of EV batteries made in Taiwan”. The key materials for the LFP batteries are to be contributed by the new Foxconn partners: China Steel Chemical the so-called MCMB material (‘mesocarbon microbeads’), Giga Solar the silicon oxide and Long Time Technology the artificial graphite.
The batteries produced under the cooperation agreement will then be used in electric buses made by Foxconn subsidiary Foxtron. So far, Foxconn has mainly attracted attention with the construction of electric cars. According to Taiwanese media reports, the company’s first electric bus is to be delivered in the second quarter of 2022. Then apparently with a battery from another manufacturer on board.
Foxconn parent company Hon Hai already holds stakes in Long Time Technology and Giga Solar Materials. According to a Reuters report, the Taiwanese company invested the equivalent of about 36 million US dollars in the latter company. As the name of the company suggests, Giga Solar Materials is mainly at home in the production of materials for solar cells. Like Foxconn, the company is based in Taiwan.
Foxconn has identified electric vehicles as an important new business area and unveiled an electric car platform in autumn 2020. This was followed by a series of collaborations, including with Geely, Fisker, Nidec and Thailand’s state-owned energy company PTT. With the latter, Foxconn recently also agreed to set up a joint venture to manufacture electric vehicles in Thailand. Since the beginning of June, the two partners have been developing a joint electric car platform that includes hardware and software services. There are no technical details as yet.
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