Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt is investing $200 million in Poland to create what it says will be Europe’s largest factory for energy storage systems. The facility will provide technical solutions “for ending industrial dependence on fossil fuels”, claims the firm.
The 50,000 square metre plant will be built in Gdańsk, expanding Northvolt’s presence in the Baltic coast city and creating an additional 500 jobs. It will be opened in two phases, with development already underway and construction set to begin this autumn.
The initial part of the factory will produce an annual output of 5 GWh of modules and packs, which will help “support the transformation of Europe’s electricity grid and its industry”, according to Northvolt’s CEO, Peter Carlsson. The second phase will bring the total manufacturing capacity to 12 GWh per year.
Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, says that the project will contribute to efforts to make Poland a leader in electromobility.
“We are trying to make Poland an industrial hub, at least in this part of Europe,” said Morawiecki during a press conference on Friday. Northvolt’s expansion in Gdańsk will help create “new competencies, connections and business relations”.
A recent report by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), a government body, noted that Poland has become the EU leader in the production of lithium-ion batteries. Polish battery exports reached €2.9 billion by the middle of last year.
“Northvolt has been present in Poland for three years and we are impressed by both the professionalism and calibre of the engineers and manufacturing staff we’re engaged with,” said Emad Zand, chief growth officer at Northvolt.
While the factory will be “fully automated”, a new research and development centre built in conjunction with the manufacturing facilities is expected to create hundreds of jobs. The complex will be powered by renewable energy, including on-site generation, says Northvolt.
Since 2019, the firm has already operated another battery systems plant in Gdańsk. The Northvolt Battery Systems Jeden facility produces 10,000 modules each year and houses an R&D centre for industrialising battery solutions.
The firm chose the Tri-City region – which comprises Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot – “due to the proximity of the port, the Tri-City agglomeration itself, a well-developed system of higher education and access to talent,” said Robert Chryc-Gawrychowski of Northvolt Poland, quoted by Interia.
Last month, US technology giant Intel also announced an investment worth tens of millions of euro to expand its presence in Gdańsk, where the company already had its largest R&D centre in the EU.
Last year, Microsoft announced a $1 billion investment in Poland, which will include its first data centre, while Google also unveiled plans to invest up to $2 billion in a Polish data centre.
Main image credit: Northvolt/Facebook
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
