Samsung Opens Lithium-Ion Battery Factory In China
Originally published on EV Obsession.
An inauguration ceremony for Samsung SDI’s newly completed electric vehicle battery production facility in the Gaoxin Industrial District in Xi’an, in Shaanxi Province, China, was recently held by the Korean company.
Worth noting here is that Samsung SDI is now the first “top” battery manufacturer to develop an electric vehicle (EV) battery production plant in China; and to initiate mass production in the economic powerhouse.
Green Car Congress provides more:
The Xi’an plant has initiated its operation from September. It has finalized battery supply agreements with 10 local personal and commercial vehicle companies and is already delivering. Some of these companies include bus manufacturer Yutong and leading truck manufacturer Foton.
The finalized Samsung SDI Xi’an Plant can manufacture batteries for approximately 40,000 full electric vehicles per year. The plant is capable of producing cells and modules. Preparing for increased market demand in the future, Samsung SDI will invest US$600 million into the Xi’an battery plant until 2020 with the goal of achieving US$1 billion in sales.
Impressive numbers. Not quite on the scale of the Gigafactory, but still quite notable. On that note, it should probably be remembered that, while operations are set to begin at the Gigafactory next year, full operational capacity isn’t expected to be reached for several more years. The opening next year is simply of the first phase.
For more on this subject, see:
- Samsung SDI Showcasing Lithium-Ion EV Battery Technologies At Frankfurt Motor Show
- Tesla Gigafactory May Be More Than Twice The Size Originally Planned
- Tesla Gigafactory Ahead of Schedule, Model X Production Line Has Several Times More Robots
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Stating a number like “40,000 full electric vehicles” without providing the pack size seems pretty pointless to me. Still, nice that other manufacturers invest.
Right. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded a comparison to how much the gigafactory is supposed to produce, and whether they were making it cool by covering it with solar, and building a wind farm next to it.
BYD has been making EV batteries on a large scale in China for some time, as it’s a Chinese company.
Ok their must be a battery nut out there somewhere that can make a new chart of battery production. We have all see the chart with 2013 numbers and GigaFac in 2020 making a bit more that the whole in 2013. But what about one with 2014 numbers, 2015 (should be good estimate by now) and guesses for 2016-2020. I mean come on it looks like the GigaFac maybe growing faster than first planned. Others must have started on production increases. Paint a picture of 2020 for us.