Svolt Energy expects its Thailand plant to supply more than 20,000 battery packs to local customers this year.
(Image credit: Svolt Energy)
Svolt Energy's battery plant in Thailand went into mass production today, the battery maker, which was spun off from Great Wall Motor (HKG: 2333), announced in a release.
Bulk deliveries of products from the plant have begun, and will soon be installed in a number of new energy vehicle (NEV) models in Thailand under Great Wall Motor's Ora, Tank, and Haval brands, as well as Hozon New Energy Automobile's models, it said. Hozon is the parent company of Neta Auto.
Svolt Energy did not mention the plant's capacity in today's release, but said it expects the plant to supply more than 20,000 battery packs to local customers this year, based on customer order demand.
The battery maker began construction on the Sriracha Chonburi-based plant on July 5, 2023, converted from a facility leased locally.
The plant's capacity is expected to be 60,000 modules and packs per year, and will have two production lines, one for producing battery modules for HEVs, PHEVs, and BEVs, and the other for assembling packs, according to an announcement made by Svolt Energy in July last year.
On December 20, 2023, Svolt Energy said it saw the first battery pack come off the line at its Thailand plant.
The battery pack is Svolt Energy's LCTP battery pack with a capacity of 60 kWh, providing a CLTC range of up to 500 km.
The pack is based on lithium iron phosphate chemistry and utilizes Svolt Energy's L600 series cells.
The Thailand plant is an important part of Svolt Energy's international footprint and is a joint venture between the company's Thai subsidiary and Banpu NEXT, according to its release today. Banpu NEXT is a subsidiary of international energy giant Banpu Group.
Svolt Energy said in a separate press release today that it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Banpu NEXT, on February 27 to deepen their partnership.
This is an innovative business cooperation following the establishment of a joint-venture factory between the two parties and aims to deepen their localized cooperation in the fields of energy storage, battery cells, and recycling, it said.
The two sides will become strategic partners in the Asia-Pacific region in businesses including lithium battery assembly, energy storage system assembly, and battery cell production, and jointly establish an energy storage system assembly line, Svolt Energy said.
The two will also initiate a feasibility study on localized production of battery cells to meet Thailand's policy requirements in preparation for localized battery production in Thailand from 2026, it said.
Svolt Energy was originally the power battery division of Great Wall Motor, which started power battery research and development in 2012.
It became independent from Great Wall Motor in February 2018 to work on next-generation battery materials, cells, modules, packs, BMS, and energy storage technologies.
The battery maker currently has 11 production sites in China and one overseas production site in Heusweiler, Saarland, Germany, according to its website.
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