The Finnish supplier Valmet Automotive has started series production of battery systems in Kirchardt in Baden-Württemberg. Announced almost two years ago, the plant near Heilbronn now manufactures high-voltage systems for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids and is the company’s first German battery plant.
Valmet already has the first order in the bag: small-series production of modules, packs and the battery management system (BMS) for the PHEV variant of an unnamed sports car brand. Pre-series production for the first major order from another customer will start in the summer. The customer here is a German OEM, but was also not named.
Valmet announced production in the German state of Baden-Württemberg a good two years ago. To be precise, the factory was supposed to go into operation already at the end of 2022. Already at that time, the company announced that it had been commissioned by a German car manufacturer as a Tier 1 supplier for a battery programme. Part of the contract was to minimise transport routes in order to conserve resources. That is why the new factory was built close to the customer. It is still unclear who the client is – we had guessed Audi at the time.
Kirchardt is the company’s third plant for the production of battery systems. Valmet already operates a battery assembly plant in Salo, Finland. The second factory is directly attached to Valmet Automotive’s car plant in Uusikaupunki. The latter also manufactures battery modules for production in Germany.
“Since the start of production at our first battery plant in Salo, Finland, in 2019, we have delivered over 1 million battery systems for our customers’ hybrid, plug-in and fully electric vehicles. The plant in Kirchardt, our first in Germany, will further strengthen Valmet Automotive as a leader in the production and development of battery systems,” says Jyrki Nurmi, SVP of the EV Systems (EVS) business line, Valmet Automotive.
Keyword: Valmet kicks off battery assembly in Germany