FREYR Battery hosts Nidec and provides operational updates
Sep 6, 2023
FREYR Battery (FREYR) recently welcomed Nidec Corporation (Nidec), a global leader in electric motors and engineering, procurement, and construction solutions for the energy storage systems (ESS) market, to our Customer Qualification Plant (CQP) in Mo i Rana, Norway. The visit was to oversee the evaluation of the initial cells’ electrochemical properties and key operational performance characteristics of the CQP. The testing program will support customer acceptance and technology validation ahead of anticipated shipments of fully automated sample cell production for Nidec during 4Q 2023.
Following the assembly and successful charging of initial battery unit cells in June, FREYR has continued to produce semi-automated cells to document electrochemical performance characteristics of the cells and the quality of gradually ramped up production. We have continued the production of unit cells in parallel with the completion of commissioning packages to enable fully automated production.
During the Nidec visit, FREYR showcased that:
- To date, more than 67% of the unit cells produced are in cycling tests showing an increasing ability to convert the upstream slurry mixing into working cells to undergo formation and aging in FREYR’s 480 testing channels.
- Several cells show energy density levels which indicate that we are on track to replicate the energy density of the A samples from 24M that Nidec tested as part of the Long-Term Sales Agreement entered into in 2H2022.
- We have reached a critical milestone with a successful start-up and operation of the cathode Multi-Carrier System (MCS). The MCS, which is a core part of the casting and unit cell assembly equipment, utilizes a conveyor belt and pallet configuration that is the front end of the automatic cathode casting process. The successful software-hardware calibration of the cathode MCS is an important precursor to fully automated cathode and anode casting.
“Nidec and our technical advisors have observed and reviewed FREYR’s battery production activities at the CQP, including initial electrochemical performance of a number of semi-automatically produced cells. We are deeply impressed with the progress FREYR has made and we are encouraged by the initial indications that the 24M SemiSolidTM production platform is emerging as a breakthrough technology at GWh scale in the battery space”, added Laurent Demortier, President of Nidec’s Energy & Infrastructure division.
“Our CQP team is progressing towards fully automated production, and we remain on track. Working closely with our partners at Mpac Group plc, we are advancing towards validating the process and product characteristics of the 24M SemiSolidTM platform, which we expect to trigger the next phase of capital formation for our giga scale LFP battery factories,” commented Birger Steen, FREYR’s Chief Executive Officer.
Forthcoming process milestones include:
- Automatic cathode and anode casting with solvent slurry to enable FREYR’s teams to validate operational performance without the constraints of working in a dry room environment.
- Automated casting with electrolyte slurry.
- Complete commissioning and testing of the merging unit to enable fully automated production of cells.
We remain on track to meet these milestones to commence fully automated production at the CQP during 4Q 2023. Achieving process automation is a key milestone that will position FREYR to produce and ship sample cells to customers including Nidec, which is expected to subsequently catalyze the Giga America project equity farm down process.
Going forward, we will provide regular updates of CQP and automated cell production progress on our website and social media channels.
