FREYR Battery Provides Operations Update
FREYR Battery has successfully completed its first production trial of unit cells at its Customer Qualification Plant (CQP) in Mo i Rana, Norway. This milestone demonstrates the functionality of giga-scale production line equipment for the second generation of the 24M Technologies SemiSolid™ platform, making FREYR the first company globally to achieve this. The CQP team now aims to produce unit cells using fully automated processes and plans to manufacture multi-layer pouch battery cells by Q2 2024. The trial was facilitated by the integration of casting webs across cathode, anode, and merge units. This achievement positions FREYR as a leading partner for advanced lithium-ion battery production technologies.
- Completion of first production trial at CQP demonstrates giga-scale production capabilities.
- FREYR is the first company globally to utilize the second generation of the 24M Technologies SemiSolid™ platform.
- Integration of casting webs across critical units indicates successful automation.
- Plans to manufacture multi-layer pouch battery cells by Q2 2024.
- Enhanced production speed and manufacturing capabilities expected.
- Significant work remains to streamline automation and improve material composition.
- Final stages of equipment commissioning are incomplete.
- Potential risks in scaling up to continuous production without interruptions.
Insights
FREYR Battery's operational update is a significant development in the company's journey towards becoming a major player in the battery manufacturing market. The completion of its first production trial of unit cells using the full capabilities of the Casting and Unit Cell Assembly at the Customer Qualification Plant (CQP) is a notable milestone. This achievement demonstrates FREYR's ability to scale up production, which is important for meeting future demand.
From a financial perspective, the ability to produce at a giga scale could potentially lead to economies of scale, lowering production costs and increasing profit margins. While the completion of this milestone is promising, investors should also consider the potential risks, such as the remaining work needed to streamline automation and improve material composition. These factors could affect the timeline and cost of full-scale production.
In the short term, this news may boost investor confidence and positively impact FREYR's stock price. However, the long-term financial benefits will depend on the company's ability to successfully transition to continuous production and meet its Q2 2024 target for multi-layer pouch battery cells. Additionally, the broader market acceptance and commercial viability of the SemiSolid™ technology will play a important role in determining the company's future financial performance.
The SemiSolid™ platform represents a significant technological advancement in battery manufacturing. Unlike conventional lithium-ion battery production, which involves producing electrodes on separate equipment, the SemiSolid™ technology employs a continuous and integrated process. This method not only simplifies the production process but also has the potential to enhance the energy density and performance of the batteries.
The successful integration of casting webs across the cathode, anode and merge units using the Multi-Carrier System (MCS) is a substantial technical achievement. This system allows for higher automation and precision in the manufacturing process, which could lead to more consistent and reliable battery cells.
For investors, understanding the technological nuances of the SemiSolid™ platform is key. If FREYR can continue to refine this technology and demonstrate its scalability, it could position itself as a leading supplier of next-generation batteries. However, the transition from trial production to full-scale, continuous production will be critical. Any technical hurdles or delays in this phase could impact the company's ability to meet its production targets and market expectations.
The global battery market is highly competitive, with significant market share currently held by Asian manufacturers. FREYR's progress in developing a U.S.-based battery production technology is noteworthy as it aligns with broader industry trends towards regionalization and energy security. The SemiSolid™ platform's potential to enhance regional energy security and competitiveness is particularly relevant given the current geopolitical landscape.
Market dynamics are shifting, with increasing demand for sustainable and high-performance batteries driven by the electric vehicle (EV) market and renewable energy storage needs. FREYR's focus on advanced, novel battery technologies could provide a competitive edge, especially if the SemiSolid™ platform can deliver on its promise of improved efficiency and lower costs.
For investors, this milestone indicates that FREYR is making tangible progress towards establishing itself in a lucrative and growing market. However, the ultimate commercial success of the SemiSolid™ platform will depend on the company's ability to scale production, secure customer contracts and compete with established players. Monitoring market reception and any forthcoming partnerships or deals will be important for assessing FREYR's long-term potential.
- FREYR has completed its first production trial of unit cells using the full capabilities of the Casting and Unit Cell Assembly at the Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”). With this, FREYR is the first company globally to successfully demonstrate the functionality of giga scale production line equipment for the second generation of the 24M Technologies SemiSolidTM platform.
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This achievement at the CQP positions FREYR as a leading industrialization partner for advanced, novel and
U.S. IP-based Lithium-Ion battery production technologies.
- The CQP team will now move on to producing unit cells using the full automation of the production line equipment in a continuous process. Following that milestone, the teams at the CQP plan to proceed to manufacturing multi-layer pouch battery cells in Q2 2024 for customers while continuously improving the electrochemical and electromechanical performance of the technology platform.
- The FREYR teams at the CQP will continue to fine tune processes before commencing continuous operation to harvest production data and product quality evaluations at scale through powder preparation, slurry mixing, electrode casting, unit cell merge, stacking, pouch singulation, charging, formation and aging.
FREYR conducts successful unit cell production trials at CQP
FREYR’s teams, vendors, and partners at the CQP have reached the Company’s most significant technical milestone to date by producing unit cells with the full functionality of the Casting and Unit Cell Assembly machine, the novel component of the SemiSolid™ platform. While significant work remains to further streamline automation, improve material composition, and to complete the final stages of commissioning, this accomplishment marks the completion of critical path equipment commissioning and is expected to enable FREYR to begin increasing production speeds and manufacturing multi-layer battery sample cells in Q2 2024.
“This is a material step forward for our team at Asset Mo. Having demonstrated our ability to manufacture cells with the next-generation Casting and Unit Cell Assembly, we are now poised to move into trial production using a continuous process. This next milestone will then enable our teams to perform data and performance analysis of the unit cells, surge production speeds, and proceed to manufacturing mechanically complete sample cells in Q2,” commented Mike Brose, FREYR’s Head of the Asset Mo team. “Today’s announcement is a reflection of the tremendous collective effort by FREYR’s people, vendors, and partners in Mo – I wish to thank and congratulate everyone involved for their dedication, creativity, and selflessness in helping us reach this important milestone.”
Overview of the SemiSolidTM manufacturing process
Unlike conventional lithium-ion battery manufacturing, which involves producing electrodes on separate equipment before assembling them into cells which are subsequently filled with electrolyte, the SemiSolidTM technology employs a continuous and integrated process. The SemiSolidTM process starts with electrode coating and proceeds to electrode stacking. The next-generation SemiSolidTM production line equipment (“PLE”) then creates independent “unit cells,” each containing a cathode, anode, and separator.
The subsequent steps required to produce a complete cell in a pouch – which is a stack of multiple unit cells, have already been developed and validated on the SemiSolidTM platform. As such, today’s announcement that FREYR and its partners have begun producing these unit cells with the full automation of the Casting and Unit Cell Assembly constitutes a significant technical achievement.
“On behalf of the Mpac team, I extend our congratulations to FREYR on achieving this important milestone,” commented Adam Holland, CEO of Mpac Group plc. “Mpac is proud to contribute to FREYR’s mission to create a sustainable future with next-generation battery technology.”
This production trial was enabled by the successful integration of casting webs across the cathode, anode, and merge units of the Casting and Unit Assembly equipment using the highly advanced Multi-Carrier System (“MCS”), which is the largest of its kind globally according to FREYR’s automation partner Siemens AG.
Brian Holliday, Managing Director at Siemens Digital Industries, commented, “This has been an amazing team effort between FREYR, Mpac, Festo and Siemens working together at the leading edge to highly automate battery production. The result is a huge step forward for a next generation technology that is designed to enhance the industry’s sustainability.”
Next steps at the CQP
Following this successful production trial at the CQP, FREYR is following a three-step road map to producing sample cells in Q2 2024:
- Conduct a cell production trial using a continuous process with no interruptions to fine tune the equipment;
- Surge production speeds for short periods of time to demonstrate GWh scale manufacturing capability for the casting of electrodes; and
- Produce multi-layer, mechanically in-spec pouch battery sample cells in Q2 2024.
“I am proud to report this latest achievement at the CQP,” added Birger Steen, FREYR’s Chief Executive Officer. “By proving our ability to navigate electromechanical challenges of producing batteries on novel manufacturing equipment, we are demonstrating FREYR’s technical and operational qualifications as an emerging industrialization partner of choice in the battery industry. The team is now moving to the next step on our road map, which is to replicate what we have just done in a continuous process before commencing production of multi-layer pouch battery sample cells.”
The CQP’s long-range potential
Conventional lithium-ion battery technology is estimated to account virtually all the current global commercial production, with only
“Today, we have demonstrated the ability of FREYR’s teams and global partners to scale a novel
Mr. Jensen added, “The cost of imported battery solutions to our target markets are highly dynamic, so the development of
About FREYR Battery
FREYR Battery is a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity. The Company’s mission is to accelerate the decarbonization of global energy and transportation systems by producing sustainable, cost-competitive batteries. FREYR seeks to serve the primary markets of energy storage systems (“ESS”) and commercial mobility, and the Company maintains an ambition to serve the passenger electric vehicles market (“EV”). FREYR is operating its Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”) for technology development in Mo i Rana,
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this letter, including, without limitation, the development, construction, timeline, capacity, and other usefulness of FREYR Battery’s (“FREYR”) production facilities or gigafactories; FREYR’s ability to complete cell production trial using a continuous process, surge production speeds to demonstrate GWh scale manufacturing capability for the casting of electrodes, and to produce multi-layer pouch battery sample cells in its Customer Qualification Plant (“CQP”) and to achieve targeted improvements and the commencement of automated production of sample cells ; FREYR’s ability to complete the technical requirements to stay on track with its anticipated completion cadence at the CQP; FREYR’s ability to carry out any successful future trials, implementation or integration of cathode testing and other technology to reach automated cell production; and the implementation and effectiveness of FREYR’s overall business and technology strategies are forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside FREYR’s control and are difficult to predict. Additional information about factors that could materially affect FREYR is set forth under the “Risk Factors” section in (i) FREYR’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 1, 2022, (ii) FREYR Battery, Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed with the SEC on September 8, 2023 and subsequent amendments thereto filed on October 13, 2023, October 19, 2023, and October 31, 2023, (iii) FREYR’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 29, 2024, and (iv) FREYR’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 8, 2024 and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, FREYR disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation. Should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and projections could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.
FREYR intends to use its website as a channel of distribution to disclose information which may be of interest or material to investors and to communicate with investors and the public. Such disclosures will be included on FREYR’s website in the ‘Investor Relations’ sections. FREYR also intends to use certain social media channels, including, but not limited to, X (former Twitter) and LinkedIn, as means of communicating with the public and investors about FREYR, its progress, products, and other matters. While not all the information that FREYR posts to its digital platforms may be deemed to be of a material nature, some information may be. As a result, FREYR encourages investors and others interested to review the information that it posts and to monitor such portions of FREYR’s website and social media channels on a regular basis, in addition to following FREYR’s press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts. The contents of FREYR’s website and other social media channels shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
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Investor contact:
Jeffrey Spittel
Vice President, Investor Relations
jeffrey.spittel@freyrbattery.com
Tel: (+1) 409 599-5706
Media contact:
Amy Jaick
Global Head of Communications
amy.jaick@freyrbattery.com
Tel: (+1) 973 713-5585
Source: FREYR Battery
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