Freyr forms US clean battery cell JV with Koch Strategic Platforms

Artist's impression of Frey's projected pilot factory in Norway. Source: Flickr

Norwegian battery cells developer Freyr Battery (NYSE:FREY; FREYR) unveiled on Tuesday a new, equally-held joint venture with Koch Strategic Platforms (KSP) to explore the development of a clean battery cell manufacturing facility in the US with an annual capacity of 50 GWh by 2030.

The parties will aim to reach a final investment decision in 2022 on a potential US Gigafactory to make battery cells for use in energy storage systems, mobility and electric vehicles (EV), using the SemiSolid lithium-ion technology from 24M Technologies.

As part of the deal, Freyr and KSP have made a combined USD-70-million (EUR 60.6m) joint investment in battery manufacturing technology developer 24M Technologies, in the form of convertible promissory notes. KSP is investing USD 50 million, with Freyr injecting the remaining USD 20 million.

24M’s SemiSolid technology substantially shortens the battery manufacturing process all the while using conventional lithium-ion raw materials and enabling both operational cost cuts and materials recycling.

"These agreements increasingly position Freyr as a leader in modularised production of next-generation battery cells at scale. We are now taking formal steps to offer localised battery supply complementing our initial Norwegian offering to the exponentially growing US market," Freyr CEO Tom Jensen noted.

KSP said that it made due diligence checks on the Freyr investment as early as January, having been amongst the private investors that provided funding ahead of the Norwegian company's July floatation through a merger with US special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Alussa Energy Acquisition Corp.

The joint venture announcement comes after Freyr first revealed in June a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an unnamed major multinational industrial conglomerate to potentially develop a battery production plant in North America using 24M technology.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.865)

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