Lilium to commission InoBat with series production of its battery cells
InoBat, with the support of its investor and Chinese partner Gotion High-Tech, will manufacture Lilium’s battery cells at its Volta I and Volta II plants in Voderady, Slovakia.
In September this year, Gotion High-Tech signed a “pre-joint venture agreement” with Slovakian battery company InoBat to create a joint battery cell factory in Europe. The agreement followed a non-binding letter of intent between the two companies in February 2023 and a 25 per cent stake in InoBat announced by Gotion about two weeks ago.
InoBat will build Lilium Jet battery cells at its existing Volta I plant and future Volta II plants in Voderady, Slovakia. With a 25 per cent stake in InoBat, Gotion High-Tech is positioned to provide crucial resources and manufacturing expertise to expedite production ramp-up at the Volta II plant in Slovakia. The Volta II plant will be InoBat’s first gigafactory, with an annual production capacity of up to 4 GWh. Production at the Volta I plant is already scheduled to start at the beginning of 2024.
Gotion High-Tech is the world’s eighth-largest battery cell manufacturer and a key supplier to the Volkswagen Group, which already caters to most of the VW group’s future battery demands. Gotion is also a technology partner for the PowerCo battery cell factory in Salzgitter, Germany, as well as building its cell production in Göttingen. The cooperation with InoBat is just one of several European activities for the Chinese battery maker.
InoBat is an R&D and battery production company aiming to serve the European market with new energy solutions with technologies born out of European ventures or international entities looking to expand their global reach right from the heart of the European continent. The company is based in Bratislava and leverages AI and innovative process technology to reduce the cost and time needed to develop intelligent batteries.
Lilium’s decision to extend its partnership with InoBat is part of the Munich-based German company’s multiple-sourcing strategy for cell production. Yves Yemsi, Lilium’s COO, says, “We expect that multiple cell suppliers will support our aircraft program, with the aim to ensure a reliable volume production of battery cells for years to come.”
Just last month, the Bavarian electric flying taxi startup Lilium partnered with EMCJET to open private sales of its Lilium jets in the US market. EMCJET will be the exclusive Lilium dealer in Texas for private sales until 2030. In July this year, the German startup raised another 150 million US dollars in capital. Lilium was able to raise a backer in Germany who is investing 75 million US dollars.
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