Valmet Automotive expands Uusikaupunki car plant into battery factory

• New battery production at the vehicle production site
• Second high-volume battery plant beside Salo
• Start of high-voltage battery assembly in Uusikaupunki in the latter half of 2021.

In the future, Valmet Automotive’s car plant will not only produce passenger cars, but also will install high-volume production of battery systems for electrically powered vehicles. Beside Salo, Uusikaupunki will be the second plant with high-volume battery system production. The expansion is a key step in the implementation of the strategy to establish Valmet Automotive as a Tier-1 system supplier for battery systems and modules. The battery factory in Uusikaupunki is scheduled to go into operation in the latter half of 2021.

The vehicle manufacturing will stay as a major operation at the Uusikaupunki site. But one of the main goals in the further development is to establish a high-voltage and high-volume battery system production as another product in addition to the car manufacturing. Simultaneously, Valmet Automotive also started construction works to expand the battery system production at the battery plant in Salo, Finland, which went into production by October 2019.

The decision to establish a high-volume battery system production facility in Uusikaupunki is based on the fact, that Valmet Automotive recently has been nominated as a Tier-1 system supplier for a battery program by a leading, new customer from the automotive industry. This nomination includes the assembly of the battery pack as well as the production of the cell modules.

“With the decision to establish a high-volume battery system production in Uusikaupunki, we are opening a strong additional growth perspective to our largest and most important plant. Combining car manufacturing and battery system production in one plant additional to our Salo plant nearby, we do not just offer a unique package to our customers, but also make an important contribution to protecting the environment,” says Olaf Bongwald, CEO Valmet Automotive.

Uusikaupunki and Salo will then represent the cutting-edge in high-volume battery system production, and on this base, the company further proliferate its business operations in batteries for electric vehicles.

Valmet Automotive has been running a battery system production for small series for years in Uusikaupunki, a battery test center included. There, the main focus of testing activities has been so far on battery systems for industrial applications.