Volvo forms a joint venture with sustainable battery company Northvolt
The joint venture could see a 50-gigawatt-hour battery factory open in Europe by 2026.
Plenty of automakers have voiced their intent to start electrifying their fleets, and of those, a good number have formed joint ventures with battery developers and producers. Volvo is the latest to do so, according to an announcement Monday.
Volvo's joint venture is with a Swedish company called Northvolt. Its purpose is to produce more sustainable batteries that will power the next generation of electric Volvos -- including the replacement for the XC60.
This kind of joint venture is critical to Volvo's plans to have 50% of its vehicle sales be electric by 2025 and 100% electric by 2030. The companies will work together to establish a new European battery production facility by 2026 that could have a capacity of up to 50 gigawatt-hours.
Volvo estimates that this new factory will employ more than 3,000 people and be powered exclusively by sustainable energy. The joint venture has yet to nail down a final location for the factory, though.
"Volvo Cars and Polestar are industry leaders in the transition to electrification and perfect partners on the journey ahead as we aim to develop and produce the world's most sustainable battery cells," Peter Carlsson, CEO of Northvolt, said in a statement. "We are proud to become their exclusive battery cell production partner in Europe."
Volvo says it will to reveal more of its future tech plans June 30 as part of its Volvo Cars Tech Moment event.
