Swedish carmaker Volvo has opened a new battery assembly facility at its plant in Ghent, Belgium. The new 5,000 square metre site will house a 95-metre long assembly line that will produce the batteries for the company's upcoming electric XC40 Recharge P8. Work started on the line in 2018 and is part of continual investment in the plant which saw employment numbers increase by 450 last year, making it the largest industrial employer in the Flanders area.
A large part of that investment has included upgrades to more environmentally friendly operations and the installation of renewable energy, including 9,000 solar panels and large scale wind turbines. Adjustments in supplied parts mean the plant now recycle 100 tonnes of plastic per year.
Volvo will use a partially automated battery assembly line
The battery cells are made in Poland by South Korean firm LG Chem before being transported to Ghent for final assembly. Initially, just one type of battery will be made at the plant, a 78kWh unit that is made up of 19 modules and weighs close to 500kg when completed. The process is partially automated with robots performing some of the stages of assembly. Volvo says that around ten people per shift work on the line. Volvo hasn't put a number of what the production capacity will be but has said that it will slowly build up to that level over the coming year.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Geert Bruyneel, Volvo's Head of Global Production Operations, said: "I am pleased to celebrate this momentous occasion with our employees here in Ghent. As the first of our plants to get a battery assembly line, Ghent plays a pioneering role as we continue to prepare our manufacturing network for electrification."
The Volvo XC40 Recharge P8 will be Volvo's first fully electric production model and is set to begin series production later this year. Volvo has signed supply agreements with LG Chem and CATL from China. Both will provide battery cells for Volvo's plug-in hybrid batteries, though currently, only LG Chem will supply the XC40 Recharge P8 battery. Volvo will also build electric vehicles at its Luqiao facility in China and has announced construction plans for another battery assembly line at its US plant near Charleston, South Carolina.