Siro lays foundation for battery cell factory in Turkey

Farasis Energy and the Turkish electric car manufacturer Togg have begun construction of their joint battery cell factory. Their joint venture Siro officially laid the foundation stone for this at the site in Gemlik, Turkey.

At the end of March, Siro officially started the series production of battery modules and packs. For the time being, imported cells will be processed there until their local production starts: The cell production, which will be built on an area of 60 hectares, is scheduled to go into operation in 2026. The plan is to reach a capacity of 20 GWh per year by 2031, which can be further expanded if necessary.

Officially, not all of the production capacity has been earmarked for Togg (more on its plans in a moment). According to earlier information, Siro will also supply customers of Farasis Energy Europe as well as its own customers in the fields of automotive, industrial applications and stationary storage solutions.

In addition to cell production, a laboratory for the development of Farasis cells will also be built at the site by the end of 2023. “Siro will then develop and manufacture its own innovative battery cells, based on Farasis Energy’s latest technology,” the statement said.

Togg priced its debut vehicle T10X in Turkey in March and plans to start deliveries there in July 2023. Exports to other countries are planned from 2025, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – previously there was talk of late 2024. “From 2025, we will export Togg and sell it all over the world,” Erdogan said on the sidelines of the foundation stone laying event. By 2030, one million Togg BEVs are to be produced.

To be able to produce a million vehicles in total, Siro would have to scale up battery production (both cells and the modules and packs) quickly. As reported, the module and pack production that has already gone into operation is initially designed for 3 GWh per year. For the T10X with the 88.5 kWh battery, this would be enough for just 33,900 vehicles; with the basic model (52.4 kWh), it would still be 57,250 vehicles – well below the level needed for one million vehicles by 2030. But with 20 GWh per year (and initially imported cells) it could be enough.

In addition to Erdogan and other members of his cabinet, representatives from Siro and Farasis were also on hand. “This investment underlines Farasis’ global growth and places emphasis on the importance to switch to a fossil free form of transportation,” says Keith Kepler, vice-chairman of Siro and co-founder of Farasis. Stefan Bergold, board member of Siro and General Manager at Farasis Energy Europe, adds: “Siro will ensure the storage of renewable energy, accelerate electrification of vehicles, and thus make significant contributions to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Businesses and governments need to collaborate closely on mobility issues to achieve set climate goals.”

pressebox.com (Mitteilung), trtworld.com (Erdogan-Aussage)