Nidec signs join venture agreement with Norwegian Semi-Solid Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturer FREYR Battery
The joint venture agreement includes development, manufacturing and sale of integrated, low carbon ESS solutions to industrial and utility grade customers, contributing to the promotion of renewable energy and the realisation of a decarbonised society.
On the 30th of August in Kyoto (Japan) Nidec Corporation (“Nidec”), the world’s largest small precision motor manufacturer in the automotive, the industrial, and the appliance sectors, signed a joint venture agreement with FREYR Battery Norway AS (“FREYR”), a Norwegian company with innovative semi-solid lithium-ion battery manufacturing technology in terms of quality and manufacturing process, exclusively using clean renewable hydroelectric power locally available.
The joint venture company’s shareholders will be Nidec 66.7% and FREYR 33.3%, while the headquarters will be based in Oslo, Norway.
Nidec’s Battery Energy Storage Solutions (“BESS”) provide services to the grid that enable accelerated adoption of renewable power generation which contributes to the realization of a carbon-zero society. FREYR will manufacture eco-friendly semi-solid lithium-ion batteries using 100% renewable energy through a dedicated Power Purchase Agreement with Statkraft (Europe’s largest renewable energy producer) based on 100% hydroelectric power. The partnership with FREYR will ensure a stable procurement of competitive and clean semi-solid lithium-ion batteries for Nidec’s BESS solutions. This will help to reduce CO2 emissions significantly throughout the entire process from the battery manufacturing process to the use of our BESS solution by customers.
As a result of the joint venture, Nidec will develop, manufacture and sell highly competitive and low CO2 Battery modules and Battery pack solutions for industrial and utility grade battery energy storage systems applications.
As part of the agreement, FREYR will supply 38 GWh of cells to the joint venture company from 2025 to 2030 with an option to upsize the volumes to 50 GWh in the period and potential additional volumes beyond 2030.
The objective of the alliance is to jointly create a global leading provider of utility scale battery energy storage products drawing on FREYR’s innovative, low-carbon battery technology and Nidec’s leading position in utility scale energy storage systems.
“Through this strategic alliance, we will provide innovative storage battery and power management technologies to the world, thereby contributing to the promotion of renewable energy and the realization of a decarbonized society. Moreover, by concluding this joint venture agreement, Nidec will strengthen strategic partnership with FREYR and aim to further expand the BESS solution business in the future.” – said Laurent Demortier, President Nidec, Energy & Infrastructure Division.
The BESS market, which offers more effective usage of renewable energy sources, is becoming increasingly important in the efforts toward realizing a decarbonized society. Nidec is one of the leading technology solution providers in the global BESS market with 1.3 GW of BESS installed at 121 energy storage projects in 21 countries globally including Europe, South America, and Africa. In March 2022, Nidec got an order of 129.8 MW BESS in Scotland, UK. Nidec expects strong growth for its BESS business and plans to increase its presence in EMEA and expand into North America and China.
FREYR is currently building its first Gigafactory in Norway, which is planned to start production from 2024 and reach a nameplate capacity of 29 GWh. FREYR is targeting more than 200 GWh installed annual production by 2030. FREYR’s semi-solid lithium-ion battery offers unique safety features compared to conventional lithium-ion battery, and is highly durable, attracting attention from various companies as next-generation batteries. The government of Norway has positioned FREYR as an essential company for its national battery strategy.
Nidec has set the medium-term strategic goal, Vision 2025, and targets carbon neutrality by 2040. In particular, Nidec will contribute to decarbonisation by using its products and reduce CO2 emissions from business activities. This agreement will contribute to both. Nidec will continue to contribute to the realisation of a carbon-neutral society through proactive investment in environmental measures.
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