Gigafactory envisioned by Tesla, © Tesla
Many years ago, Germany still had important expertise in battery technology. After crucial stakeholders left the country, the market has been dominated by Japanese and South Korean manufacturers. The National Platform for Electric Mobility (NPE) is now feverishly looking for ways to bring cell and battery production back to the country, in order to make Germany a leading supplier in electric transportation. On March 17, 2016, the NPE presented a roadmap which states that such a turnaround would require a promising global market environment, further technological advances as well as inexpensive site-specific costs for energy, wages and logistics. The chair of NPE, professor Henning Kagermann, explained: “The battery makes up 30 to 40% of the electric car value chain. It is the core component of the vehicle and an essential link in the chain. It is also a crucial factor in electric vehicle design […] and directly influences user acceptance of electric transportation.”
The NPE’s concrete suggestion is to construct a cell factory in Germany and gradually expand it to a capacity of …
NPE, Roadmap for integrated cell and battery production in Germany, 2016
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