Regulatory News:
During French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the Saft
Nersac plant near Angoulême, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region,
Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT), through its affiliate Saft,
and PSA with Opel, are announcing their plan to combine their
know-how to develop EV battery manufacturing activity in Europe. To
that end, the partners intend to establish a joint venture named
Automotive Cell Company (ACC).
The project will leverage cutting-edge R&D, notably provided
by Saft, in order to produce EV batteries starting in 2023. The
technology used will offer the highest level of energy performance,
both in terms of range and charging time, and a lower carbon
footprint than that of the competition, setting a new standard in
Europe.
The first phase of the project focuses on R&D, including
building a pilot plant on the land of Saft’s Nersac facility. The
plant is scheduled to start up in mid-2021 and represents an
investment of 200 million euros. The project will generate around
200 high-skilled jobs in France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region to
develop, qualify and commercially scale up new, high-performance
lithium-ion batteries.
This first phase will trigger the investment decision for a
large-scale production plant (8 GWh initially, rising to 24 GWh
later on) in the northern Hauts-de-France region, followed by a
second one of equal capacity in Germany, in order to reach 48 GWh
of combined capacity by 2030. That would represent production of
one million batteries a year, or around 10-15% of the European
market. Ultimately, nearly €5 billion will be required to complete
this ambitious program.
Total and Groupe PSA acknowledge the support of French, German
and European Union authorities for the project, expected to receive
nearly €1.3 billion in public funding during its development in the
frame of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI)
initiative authorized by the European Commission.
“In 2015, Total set an ambition to become the responsible energy
major. With that in mind, we acquired Saft, a major battery maker,
in 2016, primarily to develop energy storage to support the growth
of intermittent renewable energies such as solar and wind. The
fast-growing development of electric mobility offers Total, via
Saft, another opportunity for growth and commitment to a
decarbonized economy,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Total. “With the support of French, German and
European authorities, we will deploy our best expertise and
technologies alongside our partner Groupe PSA, to create a
competitive European battery industry.”
Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of Groupe PSA
added: “Our purpose is to offer citizens mobility options that are
clean, safe and affordable. I am convinced that this project, with
our partner Total/Saft, will create a benchmark player in
automotive battery cell development and production in Europe. I
would like to thank the French and German authorities, the
Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Hauts-de-France regions and
Rhineland-Palatinate state for their active support, which is
decisive in the creation of a competitive business backed by Total
and its affiliate Saft, Groupe PSA and Opel.”
The Automotive Cell Company (ACC) will be a 50-50 Saft and
Groupe PSA/Opel joint venture for the pilot production line. During
the commercial production phase, Saft’s share in ACC will decline
to 33%.
European context
In 2019, the European Union set ambitious, binding targets to
quickly expand the sale of electric vehicles. The European market
for automotive batteries is estimated to reach around 400 GWh in
2030, or 15 times current needs, corresponding to more than seven
million electric vehicles.
European automakers therefore need to plan their battery supply
strategy, since batteries represent more than a third of an
electric vehicle’s added value.
The project’s implementation is contingent on securing the
approvals of the relevant antitrust authorities.
About Total
Total is a major energy player that produces and markets fuels,
natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are
committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner
and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than
130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy
major.
About Saft
Saft specializes in advanced technology battery solutions for
industry, from design and development to production, customization
and service provision. For 100 years, Saft’s longer-lasting
batteries and systems have provided critical safety applications,
back-up power and propulsion for our customers. Our innovative,
safe and reliable technology delivers high performance on land, at
sea, in the air and in space. Saft is powering industry and smarter
cities, while providing critical back-up functionality in remote
and harsh environments from the Arctic Circle to the Sahara Desert.
Saft is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total, a major energy player
that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon
electricity.
* * * * *
Cautionary note This press release, from which no legal
consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The
entities in which TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns
investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no
liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms
“Total”, “Total Group” and Group are sometimes used for
convenience. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” may also be
used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for
them. This document may contain forward-looking information and
statements that are based on a number of economic data and
assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory
environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are
subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL S.A. nor any of
its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends
contained in this document whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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