Valmet to expand auto plant into battery production

Finland's Valmet Automotive plans to install a battery production facility alongside its existing car plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland, furthering its efforts toward increased electrification.

The battery facility will begin operations in the second half of 2021, and will be the company's second battery plant alongside its project in Salo, Finland, which began production in October 2019.

The expansion of the car plant into battery production forms part of Valmet's plan to become a "tier-1 system supplier for battery systems and modules" for an unnamed new customer in the automotive industry. Tier-1 status involves the assembly of battery packs and production of cell modules, Valmet said.

The company has been active in the electric vehicle market since 2009, with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL involved as a minority shareholder since 2017.

Finland has also been one of the leading nations in Europe when it comes to sustainability — it and Sweden were the only countries to exceed the EU's 6pc reduction target in CO2 emissions by 2020, in part because of high biofuel usage.

By Yusuf Khan