- FREYR has completed its first production trial of unit cells
using the full capabilities of the Casting and Unit Cell Assembly
at the Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”). With this, FREYR is
the first company globally to successfully demonstrate the
functionality of giga scale production line equipment for the
second generation of the 24M Technologies SemiSolidTM
platform.
- This achievement at the CQP positions FREYR as a leading
industrialization partner for advanced, novel and U.S. IP-based
Lithium-Ion battery production technologies.
- The CQP team will now move on to producing unit cells using
the full automation of the production line equipment in a
continuous process. Following that milestone, the teams at the CQP
plan to proceed to manufacturing multi-layer pouch battery cells in
Q2 2024 for customers while continuously improving the
electrochemical and electromechanical performance of the technology
platform.
- The FREYR teams at the CQP will continue to fine tune
processes before commencing continuous operation to harvest
production data and product quality evaluations at scale through
powder preparation, slurry mixing, electrode casting, unit cell
merge, stacking, pouch singulation, charging, formation and
aging.
FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) (“FREYR” or the “Company”), a
developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production
capacity, has provided an update this morning on the Company’s
operational progress at the Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”) in
Mo i Rana, Norway.
FREYR conducts successful unit cell production trials at
CQP
FREYR’s teams, vendors, and partners at the CQP have reached the
Company’s most significant technical milestone to date by producing
unit cells with the full functionality of the Casting and Unit Cell
Assembly machine, the novel component of the SemiSolid™ platform.
While significant work remains to further streamline automation,
improve material composition, and to complete the final stages of
commissioning, this accomplishment marks the completion of critical
path equipment commissioning and is expected to enable FREYR to
begin increasing production speeds and manufacturing multi-layer
battery sample cells in Q2 2024.
“This is a material step forward for our team at Asset Mo.
Having demonstrated our ability to manufacture cells with the
next-generation Casting and Unit Cell Assembly, we are now poised
to move into trial production using a continuous process. This next
milestone will then enable our teams to perform data and
performance analysis of the unit cells, surge production speeds,
and proceed to manufacturing mechanically complete sample cells in
Q2,” commented Mike Brose, FREYR’s Head of the Asset Mo team.
“Today’s announcement is a reflection of the tremendous collective
effort by FREYR’s people, vendors, and partners in Mo – I wish to
thank and congratulate everyone involved for their dedication,
creativity, and selflessness in helping us reach this important
milestone.”
Overview of the SemiSolidTM manufacturing process
Unlike conventional lithium-ion battery manufacturing, which
involves producing electrodes on separate equipment before
assembling them into cells which are subsequently filled with
electrolyte, the SemiSolidTM technology employs a continuous and
integrated process. The SemiSolidTM process starts with electrode
coating and proceeds to electrode stacking. The next-generation
SemiSolidTM production line equipment (“PLE”) then creates
independent “unit cells,” each containing a cathode, anode, and
separator.
The subsequent steps required to produce a complete cell in a
pouch – which is a stack of multiple unit cells, have already been
developed and validated on the SemiSolidTM platform. As such,
today’s announcement that FREYR and its partners have begun
producing these unit cells with the full automation of the Casting
and Unit Cell Assembly constitutes a significant technical
achievement.
“On behalf of the Mpac team, I extend our congratulations to
FREYR on achieving this important milestone,” commented Adam
Holland, CEO of Mpac Group plc. “Mpac is proud to contribute to
FREYR’s mission to create a sustainable future with next-generation
battery technology.”
This production trial was enabled by the successful integration
of casting webs across the cathode, anode, and merge units of the
Casting and Unit Assembly equipment using the highly advanced
Multi-Carrier System (“MCS”), which is the largest of its kind
globally according to FREYR’s automation partner Siemens AG.
Brian Holliday, Managing Director at Siemens Digital Industries,
commented, “This has been an amazing team effort between FREYR,
Mpac, Festo and Siemens working together at the leading edge to
highly automate battery production. The result is a huge step
forward for a next generation technology that is designed to
enhance the industry’s sustainability.”
Next steps at the CQP
Following this successful production trial at the CQP, FREYR is
following a three-step road map to producing sample cells in Q2
2024:
- Conduct a cell production trial using a continuous process with
no interruptions to fine tune the equipment;
- Surge production speeds for short periods of time to
demonstrate GWh scale manufacturing capability for the casting of
electrodes; and
- Produce multi-layer, mechanically in-spec pouch battery sample
cells in Q2 2024.
“I am proud to report this latest achievement at the CQP,” added
Birger Steen, FREYR’s Chief Executive Officer. “By proving our
ability to navigate electromechanical challenges of producing
batteries on novel manufacturing equipment, we are demonstrating
FREYR’s technical and operational qualifications as an emerging
industrialization partner of choice in the battery industry. The
team is now moving to the next step on our road map, which is to
replicate what we have just done in a continuous process before
commencing production of multi-layer pouch battery sample
cells.”
The CQP’s long-range potential
Conventional lithium-ion battery technology is estimated to
account virtually all the current global commercial production,
with only 6% originating from the U.S, according to a recent report
from the International Energy Agency. As such, the development of
novel, U.S.-based technologies such as the SemiSolidTM platform has
the potential to enhance regional energy security and long-term
competitiveness of U.S. battery producers. In conjunction with
today’s milestone, FREYR is evaluating additional opportunities to
leverage the CQP to incubate additional technological advances in
cooperation with key stakeholders in the U.S.
“Today, we have demonstrated the ability of FREYR’s teams and
global partners to scale a novel U.S. IP centric battery technology
platform,” said Tom Einar Jensen, Co-founder and Executive Chair of
FREYR. “As complex and difficult as any battery scaling journey is,
we are very much aware that our work is just beginning, even though
this represents a proud moment for the company.”
Mr. Jensen added, “The cost of imported battery solutions to our
target markets are highly dynamic, so the development of U.S.
origin technologies at scale is critical if the U.S. is to
establish a viable competitive position in the global battery
ecosystem. Currently, 95% of battery solutions for the energy
storage market are imported from Asia. With the energy transition
accelerating in the U.S., homegrown supply of critical energy
infrastructure is a fundamental pillar to regional energy security
as well as job creation and sustained economic growth. Our
aspiration is that the CQP, as a first of its kind facility based
on U.S. Intellectual Property, could ultimately serve a unique role
as a center of innovation and scaling platform for competitive
battery solutions and the backbone of a new, increasingly localized
energy system.”
About FREYR Battery
FREYR Battery is a developer of clean, next-generation battery
cell production capacity. The Company’s mission is to accelerate
the decarbonization of global energy and transportation systems by
producing sustainable, cost-competitive batteries. FREYR seeks to
serve the primary markets of energy storage systems (“ESS”) and
commercial mobility, and the Company maintains an ambition to serve
the passenger electric vehicles market (“EV”). FREYR is operating
its Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”) for technology development
in Mo i Rana, Norway, and the Company is commencing development of
the Giga America battery manufacturing project in Coweta County,
Georgia, in the U.S. To learn more about FREYR, please visit
www.freyrbattery.com.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
All statements, other than statements of present or historical
fact included in this letter, including, without limitation, the
development, construction, timeline, capacity, and other usefulness
of FREYR Battery’s (“FREYR”) production facilities or
gigafactories; FREYR’s ability to complete cell production trial
using a continuous process, surge production speeds to demonstrate
GWh scale manufacturing capability for the casting of electrodes,
and to produce multi-layer pouch battery sample cells in its
Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”) and to achieve targeted
improvements and the commencement of automated production of sample
cells ; FREYR’s ability to complete the technical requirements to
stay on track with its anticipated completion cadence at the CQP;
FREYR’s ability to carry out any successful future trials,
implementation or integration of cathode testing and other
technology to reach automated cell production; and the
implementation and effectiveness of FREYR’s overall business and
technology strategies are forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements 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 are difficult to predict. Additional
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, (ii) FREYR Battery,
Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed with the SEC on
September 8, 2023 and subsequent amendments thereto filed on
October 13, 2023, October 19, 2023, and October 31, 2023, (iii)
FREYR’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February
29, 2024, and (iv) FREYR’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed
with the SEC on May 8, 2024 and available on the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, FREYR
disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of
which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this
presentation. Should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
results and projections could differ materially from those
expressed in any forward-looking statements.
FREYR intends to use its website as a channel of distribution to
disclose information which may be of interest or material to
investors and to communicate with investors and the public. Such
disclosures will be included on FREYR’s website in the ‘Investor
Relations’ sections. FREYR also intends to use certain social media
channels, including, but not limited to, X (former Twitter) and
LinkedIn, as means of communicating with the public and investors
about FREYR, its progress, products, and other matters. While not
all the information that FREYR posts to its digital platforms may
be deemed to be of a material nature, some information may be. As a
result, FREYR encourages investors and others interested to review
the information that it posts and to monitor such portions of
FREYR’s website and social media channels on a regular basis, in
addition to following FREYR’s press releases, SEC filings, and
public conference calls and webcasts. The contents of FREYR’s
website and other social media channels shall not be deemed
incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240522357636/en/
Investor contact: Jeffrey Spittel Vice President,
Investor Relations jeffrey.spittel@freyrbattery.com Tel: (+1) 409
599-5706
Media contact: Amy Jaick Global Head of Communications
amy.jaick@freyrbattery.com Tel: (+1) 973 713-5585
FREYR Battery (NYSE:FREY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2024 to Nov 2024
FREYR Battery (NYSE:FREY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2023 to Nov 2024