Akasol preparing for third-quarter launch of Gen 3 battery system production in Germany

Akasol has started preparations to launch production of its third-generation high-energy battery system at its ‘Gigafactory 1’ facility in Darmstadt, Germany, in the third quarter of this year.

CEO Sven Schulz announced the next steps forward for the project as US-headquartered automotive supplier, BorgWarner, moved to complete its acquisition of Akasol – as reported by World Battery News last month.

Shulz said production of the AKASystem AKM CYC lithium-ion ultra-high energy system represented the company’s "biggest investment to date”.

The system uses new cylindrical-cell battery modules that Akasol said will allow electric vehicles to increase their range by more than 60%. The module achieves an energy density of approx. 221 Wh/kg with the aid of liquid-cooled, scalable battery modules at the system level. 

'Customers lined up'

Depending on use, the new system can achieve a range of up to 850km and can be charged at a rate of up to 1C with quick charging.

Gigafactory 1 will have a production capacity of 2.5 GWh from 2021 onwards, which could be increased up to 5 GWh.

Shulz said in a video release that Akasol, which designs and manufactures customisable battery packs for buses, commercial vehicles, rolling stock and industrial vehicles, already has two customers lined up to receive series supplies of the new system.

Meanwhile, production of the new system at Akasol’s ‘Gigafactory 2’ facility, at Hazel Park, in the Greater Detroit region of the US, is set to start around six months after that in Darmstadt. Production capacity is expected to be gradually expanded from 400 MWh to a total of around 2 GWh by 2023.