NEW YORK & OSLO, Norway & LUXEMBOURG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) (“FREYR”), a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, and Nidec Corporation (TSE: 6594) (“Nidec”), a globally leading producer of high-efficiency electric motors and a leader in the energy storage systems (“ESS”) space, have announced that they have established a downstream joint venture, now called Nidec Energy AS (“Nidec Energy”).
The newly established Nidec Energy aims to develop and supply highly competitive, integrated battery energy storage solutions (“BESS”) and products with low environmental impact. Mass production is expected to commence in 2025, with the ambition to manufacture more than 8 GWh per year of battery modules and packs from 2027, and 12 GWh per year by 2030.
“The official incorporation of the joint venture with Nidec is a significant milestone in our journey to bring speed, scale, and sustainability to battery storage solutions globally,” remarked Tom Einar Jensen, FREYR’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership will enable us to accelerate the development of our highly competitive, low carbon modules and battery pack solutions for industrial and utility grade applications,” Jensen added.
Nidec Energy’s module production is expected to be integrated into FREYR’s Giga Arctic development, with volumes of integrated ESS solutions aligning with the company’s targeted ramp up of cell production in 2024. In addition, the joint venture is expected to invest more than $127 million by 2030, and eventually employ more than 300 people, the majority of whom will be based in Mo i Rana, Norway.
“We are thrilled by the progress we have made with FREYR. This joint venture will support the development of our fast-growing ESS business and aligns with our firm commitment to develop technologies that contribute to reducing global carbon emissions,” said Laurent Demortier, President of Nidec’s Energy & Infrastructure Division. “For us, FREYR is a natural partner with clean energy and sustainability ambitions. They also bring expertise and resources related to battery cell design and manufacturing, which includes the market-leading 24M SemiSolidTM lithium-ion battery cell technology.”
As one of the prerequisites to establishing the joint venture, a package of 24M Technologies (“24M”) sample cells was sent to a leading independent third-party laboratory for testing on behalf of Nidec. The purpose of the testing was to measure the capacity, charge, and discharge profiles of the cells, in addition to technical performance, to confirm that the operation of the cells was consistent with the specifications and data provided by FREYR.
Key results from sample cell testing:
- The sample cells exhibited top quartile gravimetric energy density performance for LFP graphite batteries.
- Characterization analysis demonstrated very similar behavior across the cells, and behavior remained stable across several cycles with relatively low variability across the sample pool, which provided a positive indication of cell quality.
- The cells exhibited best-in-class performance for thermal stability, indicating robust safety characteristics.
FREYR first announced a broad partnership with Nidec in August 2022. The formation of this joint venture catalyzes a firm sales contract under which FREYR will supply Nidec with 38 GWh of next-generation, clean battery cells from 2025 – 2030.
About FREYR Battery
FREYR Battery aims to provide industrial scale clean battery solutions to reduce global emissions. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, FREYR’s mission is to produce green battery cells to accelerate the decarbonization of energy and transportation systems globally. FREYR has commenced building the first of its planned factories in Mo i Rana, Norway and announced potential development of industrial scale battery cell production in Vaasa, Finland and the United States. FREYR intends to install 50 GWh of battery cell capacity by 2025 and 100 GWh annual capacity by 2028 and 200 GWh of annual capacity by 2030. To learn more about FREYR, please visit www.freyrbattery.com
About Nidec Corporation
Nidec Corporation is the world’s largest small precision motor manufacturer in the automotive, industrial, and appliance sectors. Listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nidec’s annual sales were 1.9 trillion Japanese yen in March 2022, and the company is aiming for 4 trillion Japanese yen by March 2026. Under its Corporate Slogan, “All for Dreams”, Nidec is challenging to expand the promising ESS market strategically to contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society. To learn more about Nidec, please visit www.nidec.com/en/
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding Nidec Energy’s ability to develop and supply highly competitive, integrated BESS and products with low environmental impact and meet its mass production timeline and manufacturing targets; the joint venture’s ability to bring speed, scale, and sustainability to battery storage solutions globally; the partnership’s ability to enable the acceleration of the development of FREYR’s highly competitive, low carbon modules and battery pack solutions for industrial and utility grade applications; the ability to integrate Nidec Energy’s module production into FREYR’s Giga Arctic development; the joint venture’s expected investment of more than $110 million by 2030 and the eventual employment of more than 300 people; the potential for further collaboration between FREYR and Nidec in relation to FREYR’s Giga America strengthening localized supply of environmentally friendly BESS solutions in the U.S.; the joint venture’s ability to support Nidec’s development of its fast-growing ESS business; FREYR’s ability to bring expertise and resources related to battery cell design and manufacturing, which includes 24M SemiSolidTM lithium-ion battery cell technology are forward-looking and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results.
Most of these factors are outside FREYR’s control and difficult to predict. Information about factors that could materially affect FREYR is set forth under the “Risk Factors” section in (i) FREYR’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 1, 2022, as amended, and (ii) FREYR’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 9, 2022, and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
