Panasonic is planning cooperation with European companies. Is it possible to plant lithium-ion batteries on our continent?

Panasonic plans to establish a strategic partnership with Norway's Equinor (formerly Statoil) and Norsk Hydro to launch an "efficient battery business" on the European continent. Its goal is to provide cells to, among others, manufacturers of electric vehicles. The company does not directly talk about building a plant, but this option is certainly being considered.

Panasonic follows in the footsteps of Koreans and Chinese

Far Eastern manufacturers of lithium-ion cells and batteries are making good headway by investing in lithium cell factories on our continent. Europeans not only have great purchasing power, but they have also created a powerful automobile industry capable of absorbing gigantic amounts of cells. Panasonic is expanding its list of potential cellular customers to include the energy (energy storage) sector.

A possible Japanese manufacturer's plant will likely open in Norway. As a result, it will provide access to clean energy, almost entirely from renewable energy sources, ease of entry into the EU market, and a certain independence from the federal states. While the quantity and availability of lithium-ion cells is important today, it will become more and more important over time. carbon dioxide emissions during their production... In this respect, it is difficult to find a better country in Europe (and in the world?) Than Norway.

In recent years, Panasonic has become a leader in lithium-ion cell manufacturing mainly through its close collaboration with Tesla. However, if we talk about Europe, then the Japanese overslept. Previously, expansion on our continent was planned by South Korean LG Chem (Poland) and Samsung SDI (Hungary), as well as Chinese CATL (Germany), Farasis (Germany) and SVolt (Germany).

Preliminary cooperation agreements between Panasonic and partner companies should be ready in mid-2021.

Opening photo: Panasonic Cylindrical Li-ion (c) Cell Line