Freyr Battery, Nidec establish downstream joint venture

Freyr Battery (FREY) and Nidec (NJDCY) have announced that they have established a downstream joint venture, now called Nidec Energy. The newly established Nidec Energy aims to develop and supply highly competitive, integrated battery energy storage solutions and products with low environmental impact. Mass production is expected to commence in 2025, with the ambition to manufacture more than 8 GWh per year of battery modules and packs from 2027, and 12 GWh per year by 2030. Nidec Energy’s module production is expected to be integrated into Freyr’s Giga Arctic development, with volumes of integrated ESS solutions aligning with the company’s targeted ramp up of cell production in 2024. In addition, the joint venture is expected to invest more than $127M by 2030, and eventually employ more than 300 people, the majority of whom will be based in Mo i Rana, Norway. As one of the prerequisites to establishing the joint venture, a package of 24M Technologies sample cells was sent to a leading independent third-party laboratory for testing on behalf of Nidec. The purpose of the testing was to measure the capacity, charge, and discharge profiles of the cells, in addition to technical performance, to confirm that the operation of the cells was consistent with the specifications and data provided by Freyr. The sample cells exhibited top quartile gravimetric energy density performance for LFP graphite batteries. Characterization analysis demonstrated very similar behavior across the cells, and behavior remained stable across several cycles with relatively low variability across the sample pool, which provided an indication of cell quality. The cells exhibited performance for thermal stability, indicating robust safety characteristics. Freyr first announced a broad partnership with Nidec in August. The formation of this joint venture catalyzes a firm sales contract under which Freyr will supply Nidec with 38 GWh of next-generation, clean battery cells from 2025 – 2030.