The battery cells for Scania's long haul vehicles are to be produced in Skellefteå and assembled into batteries in a new factory in Södertälje.
The lithium-ion cells are being produced at the Northvolt Ett facility in Skellefteå, and according to the press release, the battery's lifespan will be as long as that of the truck itself.
The two companies began collaborating in 2017 to develop and commercialize a battery cell for heavy electric transport, which they presented on Wednesday morning. Later this year, Scania's new battery factory in Södertälje will open, where the cells from Skellefteå will be assembled into battery packs for heavy transport electric trucks.
The collaboration with Scania for Northvolt's CEO Peter Carlsson started in 2017.
The respective CEOs of the companies expressed their enthusiasm in the press release.
– At the beginning of the partnership between Northvolt and Scania, we agreed on an ambitious timeline to jointly develop a high-performance battery cell that would enable Scania's plans to electrify heavy transport," said Peter Carlsson, CEO of Northvolt. "After extensive development and validation, we are now delivering cells from Northvolt Ett that exceed our initial expectations for performance. It is a fantastic achievement by all involved."
"When we started the development of the battery cell, the requirement was that the cell should handle 1.5 million kilometers of operation with a Scania vehicle for heavy transport. The tests show that this requirement can not only be met but also exceeded," says Scania's CEO Christian Levin.
– This is a milestone in the shift towards a sustainable transportation system," said Scania CEO Christian Levin.
– The future of heavy transport is electric, and we need top-performing battery cells for Scania's electric trucks to drive the transition and deliver on our promise to customers to provide premium products."