batteries made in France are finally arriving on the market

The joint venture for ACC batteries has marketed its first packs on the Old Continent. The European electric car battery made in France is thus becoming a reality.

Automotive Cells Company (ACC), the joint venture for batteries, continues its development. The firm, which was founded four years ago, is finally marketing its batteries for electric cars.

ACC is a joint venture that consists of Stellantis, Mercedes, TotalEnergies and Saft. This entity was created in 2020, with the hope of becoming a major battery player in Europe. The objective was clear: to create a Gigafactory competing with those of Tesla and the Chinese. In total, the project provides for four factories.

The inauguration of the first structure took place last year, and production is already underway. In fact, 2,000 batteries will come off the production lines at Billy-Berclau before the end of the year.

But it is in 2025, and then the following years, that Automotive Cells Company plans to accelerate. The capacity produced next year will be the equivalent of 150,000 vehicles. In 2026, this will be the equivalent of 250,000 electric cars, then 2 to 2.5 million by 2030.

The company wants to reach 20% market share in the European Union. For the moment, these are NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) batteries fitted to Peugeot e-3008s. But ACC works mainly on process learning.

Also readStellantis to produce cheaper batteries in Europe with help from Chinese giant CATL

An Eldorado soon to flourish?

The establishment of battery factories for electric cars is a boon for the northern region. The region describes this activity as “third industrial revolution”and there is indeed an air of revolution.

Many projects are promising for the region and for the activity linked to electric car batteries. Besides ACC, there is Envision AESC, the partner of the Renault-Nissan alliance, near Douai.

The factory should launch its batteries next year, to have an initial cruising speed close to 200,000 cars per year. This Franco-Chinese project will employ nearly 1,000 people and represents an investment of 1.3 billion euros.

The start-up Verkor, which was created in Isère in 2020, has chosen the Dunkirk region. The company will mainly supply Renault, and this 1.5 billion euro project will employ 1,200 people.

The start of production is planned for the middle of next year, and the company is targeting production which will be the equivalent of 300,000 electric cars by 2027.

Finally, the Thai ProLogium is also planning an establishment in Dunkirk in 2027. This is the first factory outside Thailand for the company, and it will cost no less than 5.2 billion.

The work has been delayed, but future production lines will specialize in semi-solid batteries. This technology is a bet for the future, but ProLogium plans to produce the equivalent of 500,000 to 750,000 vehicles. The factory is expected to employ 3,000 people when it is fully operational.