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As EV demand steadily grows, automakers and their suppliers are wisely hustling to increase battery production capacity—preferably close to their auto plants and markets. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports that there are currently over 300 battery gigafactories in the construction or planning stages around the world.
This represents some 6,388 GWh worth of battery capacity, a 68% increase compared to the figure a year ago.
North America and Europe are racing to catch up with China—the former continent has added 11 gigafactories to its pipeline since this time last year, and the latter has added 8. Joint ventures between automakers and battery companies have been major drivers to this growth—14 of the 23 North American gigafactories in the current pipeline are wholly or jointly owned by automakers.
GM is investing over $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites, much of it aimed at increasing battery cell capacity. Ford is dropping $11.4 billion to build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, and is working on another battery plant with JV partners in Turkey. Stellantis has partnered with LG to build a cell factory in Ontario.
China remains the dragon of the industry—some 75% of all facilities tracked in Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment are in China. By 2030, the country is expected to have 226 battery plants in operation, representing some 4,500 GWh of annual production, or 70% of global capacity.
“Within the last year, with a push to achieve net zero goals and major OEMs and automakers looking to accelerate the electrification of their businesses, announcements for new gigafactories have picked up pace, with Benchmark adding over 100 new cell plants to its assessment since April 2021,” says Benchmark analyst Hanisha Tirumalasetty.
Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
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