France's Saft targets new generation battery production from 2020
12/09/2018 14:30
* Aims to start mass battery production by H1 2020
* Asian rivals looking to produce in Europe
* Confirms to invest 200-300 mln euros
* European battery alliance announced in February
By Bate Felix, Benjamin Mallet and Gilles Guillaume
PARIS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - France's Saft, a unit of energy
company Total TOTF.PA , expects its four-way European battery
alliance to begin mass production of new generation lithium-ion
batteries from early 2020.
Saft, Siemens SIEGn.DE , Solvay SOLB.BR and Manz
M5ZG.DE teamed up in February to develop high-density liquid
electrolyte lithium-ion and solid-state batteries in a race
against mostly Asian players.
"The performance levels we are targeting are very much
better than what we have today. We are looking at performance
levels that are 50 percent better in terms of energy density,"
Jean-Baptiste Pernot, Saft's director of operations, told
Reuters.
In the first half of 2020, the alliance aims to launch mass
production of third-generation liquid electrolyte lithium-ion
batteries, Pernot said.
In 2022, it aims to roll out what he called a generation 3B
liquid electrolyte lithium-ion battery before offering a
solid-state lithium-ion battery in 2024.
Pernot dismissed doubts about the alliance raised by sector
analysts, telling Reuters the four-company agreement was on
track and confirming Saft plans to invest 200-300 million euros
($232-347 million) in research and devel1opment. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1SW5E4
Pernot said fourth generation batteries would offer gains in
safety and design constraints which have had a impact on costs,
particularly for electric vehicles. Most electric vehicles
currently use liquid electrolyte lithium-ion batteries.
PLACE IN THE MARKET
The battery market is currently dominated by Asian players
including China's BYD 002594.SZ and CATL 300750.SZ , and
South Korea's Samsung SDI 006400.KS and LG Chem 051910.KS ,
which are all looking to launch production in Europe.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1SU5M6
Sweden's Northvolt, headed by a former Tesla TSLA.O
executive, aims to build Europe's biggest lithium-ion battery
factory, producing 32 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cells a
year by 2023.
"The European battery market by 2025 will be in the range of
150 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 200 GWh - and probably twice as much
in 2030 - while the largest plant in the world today is around
20 GWh. That means there is room for several actors," Pernot
said.
The European car battery value chain is expected to be worth
as much as 250 billion euros by 2025, market analysts estimate.
"For a player to be competitive in the mass market for
electric vehicles, it will need factories greater than 10 GWh in
size," Pernot said.
Pernot said Saft's third generation batteries would offer a
first step into the auto sector and the company was already in
talks with some automakers and other end-users to understand
future needs. He declined to give details.
"Automakers are currently thinking about models that will
come out around 2022-2023, so it is still the right time."
Pernot said the backing of Total, which acquired Saft in
2016 for around $1 billion, would allow the firm to invest.
"The amount of investment to become a battery champion by
2030 is in the billions of euros, and closer to the tens of
billions," he said. ($1 = 0.8627 euros)
(Reporting by Bate Felix; editing by Jason Neely)
((bate.felix@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 55 70; Reuters
Messaging: bate.felix.reuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter:
@BateFelix))