Daimler to build new €500m German battery factory

Daimler has announced plans to invest €500m in the construction of a new battery factory, with significant expansion of production capacities for lithium-ion batteries, in the German city of Kamenz. The ground-breaking ceremony for the new factory is planned for Autumn 2016, with operations expected to start in Summer 2017. Upon the announcement, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars stated: “To get closer to fully electric driving, we keep investing big in the key component of emission-free vehicles: powerful batteries. We are now devoting another 500 million Euros to build a second battery factory in Germany. This underlines our commitment to the consistent expansion of electromobility.”

This will triple the production space of Daimler subsidiary Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE, located in Kamenz. As a first step, the full Daimler subsidiary has purchased about 20 hectares of land adjacent to the existing battery factory.

Daimler is investing €500 million (US$544 million) to build a second battery factory in Germany to produce lithium-ion batteries for Mercedes-Benz and smart hybrid and electric vehicles.

To get closer to fully electric driving, we keep investing big in the key component of emission-free vehicles: powerful batteries. We are now devoting another 500 million Euros to build a second battery factory in Germany. This underlines our commitment to the consistent expansion of electromobility. —Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars

By the end of 2014, the Daimler subsidiary had already announced its plans for a significant increase in its production capacities and an investment of around €100 million (US$109 million) in the expansion of the existing battery factory.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new factory is planned for fall 2016. The topping-out ceremony will then follow in spring 2017. The new production plant is to start operations in summer 2017.

In addition to supplying batteries for Daimler automobiles, Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE is also entering the stationary battery storage market for private and industrial applications.

Daimler entered into the business with stationary battery storage with Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE last year. The scalability of the systems enables the use of the lithium-ion batteries in large industry for network stabilization and smoothing of peak shaving for energy producers as well as private households.

Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE, founded in 2009, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG. The company develops and sells drive batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles based on lithium-ion technology. Since the start of series production in 2012, it has delivered more than 70,000 lithium-ion batteries.