Wuxi Lead, a manufacturer of turnkey solutions for high-performance battery production, has opened its first European production plant in Naila, in Franconia, South Germany, in co-operation with Volkswagen.
Called the “Center of Competence”, Wuxi has announced collaborations with several German partner companies, including Siemens, ABB and Festo. This announcement comes after the Chinese OEM was contracted by Volkswagen to supply battery manufacturing equipment for a 20GWh factory in Salzgitter.
The equipment in question will include calendering, roll baking, cell assembly line, electrolyte filling, cell baking, formation & aging for lithium batteries. “The event clearly demonstrated the close connection between LEAD, the region, and many major companies which for some dates back years”, said Werner Bechtel, head of the center of competence in Naila.
Wuxi Lead has said it intends to become lead supplier for a 240GWh Volkswagen factory by 2030, and already accounts for 65% of the total equipment quantity in Salzgitter.
The opening ceremony was attended by a number of politicians and representatives, including those from Wuxi’s long-standing scustomers and strategic partners. “There are many notable advanced technical colleges and universities in the region, including Hof, Jena and Ilmenau. Naila is also right in the middle of Europe. From here, it is very easy to reach the industrial centers of Germany and battery factories all over Europe,” said Markus Birkhan, head of Vertical Battery Siemens Germany. Birkhan emphasized the role of Wuxi as a “market and technology leader for the industry.”
Chu Chen, managing director of Lead Intelligent Equipment (Deutschland) GmbH, Wuxi Lead’s German subsidiary, added, “Lead is playing an ever more important role in the world market and will undoubtedly continue to expand its market share under the auspices of global electrification. In our ”Made in Europe” strategy, Germany plays a key role as a world-leading automotive and high-tech location.”
This is one of more than ten subsidiaries Wuxi has opened worldwide. Wuxi now has 870,000m2 of production and R&D space globally, and a workforce of more than 17,000 employees.
