Carmaker Volvo Cars and battery maker Northvolt will build a joint battery factory in Gothenburg in western Sweden.

The new 50 GWh plant will create up to 3,000 jobs and produce battery cells specifically designed for use in Volvo and Polestar all-electric vehicles, the Swedish companies say. It will be put into operation in 2025.

Last year, the companies said they would set up a battery development and manufacturing joint venture that would include a gigafactory and an R&D center for a total investment of about $3.3 billion.

Adrian Clarke, a former Tesla chief executive, has been appointed head of the manufacturing company.

The decisive factors in choosing Gothenburg were access to green energy sources, the availability of personnel and infrastructure.

Volvo Cars, which is majority owned by China's Geely Holding, aims to sell 50% all-electric cars by the middle of this decade, and all-electric cars by 2030. Northvolt, of which Volkswagen is the largest shareholder, has received more than $30 billion in contracts to date from clients such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar.

bbabo.Net