Varta wants to participate in battery plant

Plans for a new Gigafactory

Battery manufacturer Varta sees a great opportunity: The Company wants to participate in the construction of a Gigafactory in Germany. The factory could produce battery cells needed for the production of electric cars.

The Fraunhofer Institute will also be involved in the project. The aim is to establish mass production of battery cells in order to survive in the Asian market. So far, they have determined the market.

Varta not only wants to do research

Ellwangen in Baden-Württemberg is considered as a location. A production line shall be set up there next year with the help of subsidies from the state government. Varta has their headquarters in the city of 24,000 inhabitants. The company employs around 1,300 people there. The state is contributing several million euros to the project. Economics Minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut hopes that domestic companies will not be dependent on manufacturers from the Far East.

Hebert Schein, head of the battery manufacturer, stressed that it was not only about research, but also about production. It is not yet known which other partner companies are involved in the project.

“We talk to many market participants and then evaluate our opportunities” says Schein. The US carmaker Ford is currently considered a partner, but this is not confirmed. Nor is it yet known when the companies will start production.

Car manufacturers reserved

Varta was able to generate around 233 million euros through its IPO in October of this year. Approximately 150 million euros of this will be invested in the expansion of production.

The major German automobile manufacturers are currently still reluctant to invest in their own production of electric car batteries. The construction of such a factory costs billions – a risk even the big ones like VW, Daimler and BMW shy away from. The Fraunhofer Institute believes that Varta is currently the only German company with experience in the mass production of battery cells. Therefore, the company’s market entry is associated with a lower risk.