Those from the car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis The planned battery factory in Kaiserslautern is delayed. The planned construction work has been stopped, said the ACC joint venture between the two car manufacturers and Total Energies on Tuesday. Another ACC battery factory in Italy will also be postponed. The newspaper “Rheinpfalz” had previously reported on it.
Because of the shift in demand towards smaller electric cars, ACC has to expand its portfolio to include more cost-effective cell chemistry. This requires further research and development work, explained ACC.
“We don’t have the pace in our hands”
The newspaper “Rheinpfalz” quoted ACC Secretary General Matthieu Hubert, who spoke of a “break”. European customers are not yet very willing to switch to a new electric car. There are also obstacles in the infrastructure and high material prices. “Before we invest, and we’re talking billions, we have to answer the question of what kind of battery cell technology the market requires,” Hubert told the newspaper. Accordingly, a decision should be made by the end of this year or the beginning of next year as to what will happen next in Kaiserslautern.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares (65) said the car maker would invest in battery factories as much and as quickly as the market required. The company has no control over this pace.
Mercedes explained that it is sticking to ACC and staying on track with its electrification strategy.
The project at the Opel site in Kaiserslautern is supported with tax money amounting to around 437 million euros. In September 2021, the then Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (65, CDU) and the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate Malu Dreyer (63, SPD) presented a funding notice. According to previous information, around 2,000 jobs will be created in Kaiserslautern.
ACC is a joint venture between the car companies Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis (Peugeot, Opel, Fiat) and the energy group Total Energies. It was founded in 2020 by Stellantis and the Total Energies subsidiary Saft, Mercedes’ predecessor company Daimler joined as a third partner in 2021.