Morrow Batteries AS, Arendal, Norway, has formalized the partnership with Arendal Municipality for the establishment of its 42GWh battery cell factory. The cell factory will be located in Eyde Energy Park which is right at the centre of the so-called “Battery coast”. The agreement ensures access to approximately 1 square kilometre land.
“The agreement with Arendal comes as a result of good cooperation and solid political support. Eyde Energy Park provides an ideal setup for us and meets all the fundamental requirements for a large-scale battery cell factory, such as access to green energy, infrastructure, skilled labor force and raw materials. We look forward to continue our collaboration with Arendal municipality to establish the worlds most sustainable giga factory”, says Terje Andersen, CEO of Morrow Batteries.
Over 19 different plots of land were evaluated before Morrow selected Arendal on southern coast of Norway as the site for their giga factory. Morrow signed a letter of intent just before Christmas. This has now been formalized in the form of a binding agreement, sign by both parties and unanimous supported by Arendal City Council.
“The establishment of Morrow at Eyde Energy Park in Arendal is the beginning of one of the most important events in modern time for municipality of Arendal and its 300-year long history. We are therefore pleased that the final agreement now is signed. The area is regulated for industrial purposes, so everything is ready for the establishment of Morrow’s battery cell factory”, says Robert Cornelis Nordli, Major of Arendal.
Start of construction in 2023
Morrow will start building the factory (first module) in 2023, with production of battery cells starting in late 2024. All modules, in total four, will be completed in 2026 and will demand minimum 315 MW of electricity.
“The location allows us to build our facilities with minimal CO2-footprint and with minimal impact on the environment. We will reclaim a former land fill as a parking space for the employees and is utilising already cleared land for the first factory module. The land is already regulated for industrial activities”, says Andersen.
Planned and designed by international experts
Exyte Group, Stuttgart, Germany – a global company for design, engineering, procurement, and construction in controlled and regulated environments – has supported Morrow Batteries in the concept design of the giga-factory, and will continue to support with further detailed engineering plans. The company has experience from over 15 large scale battery projects, such as Tesla, Northvolt and LG.
Morrow will start the construction of the first giga factory module in 2022, with start of production end of 2024. Further 3 giga factory modules are planned with a total manufacturing capacity of 42 GWh.
Ideal for battery cell manufacturing
Together with industrial partners, Morrow Batteries is establishing Battery coast in the southern of Norway. An entire local ecosystem built around the battery value chain from raw materials manufacturing to recycling. The mission is to develop and manufacture the most sustainable and cost effective battery-cells in the world. With the availability of abundant amounts of green and competitive energy and its location close to harbour and shipping routes to Europe, Eyde Energy Park is an ideal location to realise this mission.
Morrow will also co-locate their pilot factory for raw materials and cell manufacturing in Eyde Energy Park. The construction of this facility will start later this year with the aim of start of production end of 2023. It will have direct access to transportation, raw materials and key markets. Furthermore, Morrow Battery Innovation Centre is strategically located a few kilometres away, at the campus of Agder University, providing infrastructure supporting the next generations of battery technology.