Volvo Group is investing 75 million euro (NZ$126m) to develop battery module production at its truck plant in Ghent, Belgium. It expects to be in production by 2025 and will strengthen the manufacturer’s battery system supply chain which currently relies on partners for the supply of cells and modules.

The battery module manufacturing line in Ghent will be able to use battery cells both from partners and from the planned battery cell plant in Sweden. The building is expected to be 12,000 square metres and be located at the Volvo Group manufacturing site. It will consist of an almost fully automated process with robots, the company says.

“This means that employees with the necessary competences will be recruited, both externally and by building on our internal competences,” says Jens Holtinger, executive vice president of the group’s trucks operations.

The Volvo Group truck assembly plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, is already building heavy-duty electric trucks as the first global manufacturer in the world.

In the second half of 2023 the plant in Ghent will also start to produce battery electric heavy-duty trucks. The battery packs needed to power these electric trucks are built in the Ghent plant. Volvo Group’s ambition is that at least 35% of the vehicles sold worldwide will be electric by 2030.

Source: transporttalk