FREYR Battery AS, (NYSE: FREY), a Norway-based developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, has reached a final investment decision (“FID”) by the FREYR Board of Directors to proceed with the construction of the Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”) and first battery cell production line in Mo i Rana, Norway.
The FID comes after completing the tender processes and allows for the award of contracts for key production equipment supply. Preparatory work on the facility is already ongoing with a targeted start of initial operations in the second half of 2022. The CQP production line is based on 24M Technologies Inc.’s SemiSolid lithium-ion battery technology and is designed with flexibility and capacity to meet anticipated demand for samples from targeted customer segments over time.
The CQP enables implementation of the 24M technology, testing of materials and battery cells and the supply of samples to potential customers across all targeted market segments. It will further support product optimisation and meeting specific customer requirements in the conditional offtake agreements that FREYR plans to negotiate, and is thus strategically important in securing final offtake agreements for the planned development of up to 35 GWh of cost competitive and clean battery cell production capacity by 2025 in Mo i Rana. FREYR is also targeting 8 GWh capacity in operations by 2025 via joint ventures in Norway and/or the Nordic region.
“The qualification plant will become the first lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility at industrial scale in Norway, supporting the core tenets of our strategy of speed, scale and sustainability,” said Tom Jensen, the CEO of FREYR. “The rapid development of initial production capacity supports ongoing customer dialogues as it will validate and improve technology, materials and cell designs as we prepare for commercial production at our planned Gigafactories. The plant will also provide us with an arena for training and development to ensure high-quality operations for the entire battery cell factory portfolio,” said Einar Kilde, EVP Projects in FREYR. The customer qualification plant is the first of a total of five factories that the Company is planning to build within the area of Mo Industrial Park.
FREYR has an ambition to accelerate the decarbonisation of transportation and energy systems, and utilize Norway’s inherent advantages, including access to renewable energy, low electricity prices, Norway’s highly skilled workforce and the closeness to rapidly growing markets in Europe and the US. On July 9, FREYR completed a business combination with Alussa Energy Acquisition Corp. raising equity funding for FREYR’s battery cell manufacturing development strategy.
About FREYR Battery
FREYR plans to develop up to 35 GWh of battery cell production capacity in Norway and an additional 8 GWh via joint ventures in Norway and/or the Nordic region by 2025 to position the company as one of Europe’s largest battery cell suppliers. The facilities will be located in the Mo i Rana industrial complex in Northern Norway, leveraging Norway’s highly skilled workforce and abundant, low-cost renewable energy sources from hydro and wind in a crisp, clear and energized environment. FREYR will supply safe, high energy density and cost competitive clean battery cells to the rapidly growing global markets for electric vehicles, energy storage, and marine applications. FREYR is committed to supporting cluster-based R&D initiatives and the development of an international ecosystem of scientific, commercial, and financial stakeholders to support the expansion of the battery value chain in our region.