- 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 (โCQPโ). 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) (โFREYRโ or the โCompanyโ), a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, has provided an update this morning on the Companyโs operational progress at the Customer Qualification Plant (โCQPโ) in Mo i Rana, Norway.
FREYR conducts successful unit cell production trials at CQP
FREYRโs teams, vendors, and partners at the CQP have reached the Companyโs 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 SemiSolidโข 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.
โThis 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,โ commented Mike Brose, FREYRโs Head of the Asset Mo team. โTodayโs announcement is a reflection of the tremendous collective effort by FREYRโs people, vendors, and partners in Mo โ I wish to thank and congratulate everyone involved for their dedication, creativity, and selflessness in helping us reach this important milestone.โ
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 (โPLEโ) then creates independent โunit cells,โ each containing a cathode, anode, and separator.
The subsequent steps required to produce a complete cell in a pouch โ which is a stack of multiple unit cells, have already been developed and validated on the SemiSolidTM platform. As such, todayโs 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.
โOn behalf of the Mpac team, I extend our congratulations to FREYR on achieving this important milestone,โ commented Adam Holland, CEO of Mpac Group plc. โMpac is proud to contribute to FREYRโs mission to create a sustainable future with next-generation battery technology.โ
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 (โMCSโ), which is the largest of its kind globally according to FREYRโs automation partner Siemens AG.
Brian Holliday, Managing Director at Siemens Digital Industries, commented, โThis 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 industryโs sustainability.โ
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.
โI am proud to report this latest achievement at the CQP,โ added Birger Steen, FREYRโs Chief Executive Officer. โBy proving our ability to navigate electromechanical challenges of producing batteries on novel manufacturing equipment, we are demonstrating FREYRโs 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.โ
The CQPโs 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 todayโs milestone, FREYR is evaluating additional opportunities to leverage the CQP to incubate additional technological advances in cooperation with key stakeholders in the U.S.
โToday, we have demonstrated the ability of FREYRโs teams and global partners to scale a novel U.S. IP centric battery technology platform,โ said Tom Einar Jensen, Co-founder and Executive Chair of FREYR. โAs 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.โ
Mr. Jensen added, โThe 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.โ
About FREYR Battery
FREYR Battery is a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity. The Companyโs 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 (โESSโ) and commercial mobility, and the Company maintains an ambition to serve the passenger electric vehicles market (โEVโ). FREYR is operating its Customer Qualification Plant (โCQPโ) 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 Batteryโs (โFREYRโ) production facilities or gigafactories; FREYRโs 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 (โCQPโ) and to achieve targeted improvements and the commencement of automated production of sample cells ; FREYRโs ability to complete the technical requirements to stay on track with its anticipated completion cadence at the CQP; FREYRโs 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 FREYRโs 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 FREYRโs control and are difficult to predict. Additional information about factors that could materially affect FREYR is set forth under the โRisk Factorsโ section in (i) FREYRโs Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the โSECโ) on September 1, 2022, (ii) FREYR Battery, Inc.โs 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) FREYRโs Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 29, 2024, and (iv) FREYRโs Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 8, 2024 and available on the SECโs 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 FREYRโs website in the โInvestor Relationsโ 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 FREYRโs website and social media channels on a regular basis, in addition to following FREYRโs press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts. The contents of FREYRโs website and other social media channels shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
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Contacts
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
