The truck builders Daimler trucks and Paccar as well as the drive manufacturer Cummins plan to jointly produce battery cells for electric commercial vehicles in the USA. The companies announced on Wednesday that a joint venture had been agreed for this purpose.
Accordingly, investments of an estimated two to three billion dollars are planned for a battery factory with an annual production capacity of 21 gigawatt hours. Daimler Truck, Paccar and Cummins subsidiary Accelera will each hold 30 percent of the joint venture “and control it together,” the companies said. The remaining 10 percent will be added by the Chinese battery manufacturer EVE Energy. EVE lacks the capital to set up its own factory.
Lithium iron phosphate cells (LFP) are to be produced. Their advantages are lower costs, a longer service life, greater safety and the fact that they do not use the critical raw materials nickel and cobalt.
Daimler Truck has been examining the establishment of its own cell production for some time and also had Germany targeted as a location. However, the US government is increasingly attracting German companies with its massive subsidy package, the Inflation Reduction Act. Daimler works council chief Michael Brecht (58) stands for factory construction outside of Germany extremely critical of.
Daimler Truck was due to the splitting of the Daimler Group into the commercial vehicle division and the car manufacturer Mercedes Benz and is the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world in terms of vehicles delivered. Paccar from Bellevue near Seattle in the US state of Washington produces the truck brands Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF. The engine manufacturer Cummins employs over 73,000 people, the subsidiary Accelera specializes in electric motors.