Daimler kunngjorde kjøpet av en 33 prosent eierandel i A Power Lithium Battery Company

Den europeiske bilgiganten Daimler sa fredag ​​(24. september) at de vil kjøpe en eierandel på 33 prosent i batteriprodusenten Automotive Cells Company (ACC), et joint venture mellom Stellantis og Total.

Flyttingen vil øke størrelsen på batteriprodusenten med rundt 7 milliarder euro (8,2 milliarder), med Daimler ombord, som har lovet å øke batteriproduksjonen til minst 120 GWh innen 2030, nær de to foregående. ganger. ACC har allerede hatt samtaler med den franske bilprodusenten Renault, og begge sider er åpne for å legge til flere partnere.

I henhold til avtalen sa Daimler at ACC vil levere batteriteknologi til Mercedes-Benz, en del av Daimler AG, fra og med 2025. Daimler vil investere tusenvis eller til og med hundrevis av millioner av euro i fellesforetaket i 2022, med den totale investeringen forventes å være mindre enn 1 milliard euro.

Daimler's move will accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, and the partnership with Stellantis will allow the company to ensure a sufficient supply of batteries and the ability to compete with other strong rivals in the field, TSLA, and Volkswagen. In the European market, electric vehicles accounted for 17 percent of total vehicle sales in the first half of the year.

Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius said in the statement: "This investment is a strategic milestone on our road to carbon neutrality. The new partnership allows us to use mass production to secure battery supply and provide a safe and secure battery for our customers. Supply superior battery technology."

ACC, a joint venture between Stellantis and French energy giant Total last year, plans to build a super factory in France and Germany. Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois commented that Mercedes' investment would help "get ACC off the ground" as a potential front-runner in the European battery race. "The cooperation between Germany and France has the potential to create a new battery champion in Europe," German Economy Minister Altmaier said in a separate statement.

ACC's current major competitor is Sweden's NorthvoltAB. Northvolt was co-founded in 2016 by former TSLA vice president of supply chain management peter Carlsson and another former executive, paolo Cerruti, whose clients include Volkswagen and BMW.