Plans for battery gigafactory in Poland unveiled

The new plant will eventually include nearly 175,500 sq. ft. of production area that will increase Impact’s production capacity to 1.2 GWh in 2024 and more than 4 GWh in 2027. (Image: Impact Clean Power Technology)

Impact Clean Power Technology, a polish company that is part of the Grenevia Group, unveiled its plans for a large-scale battery factory for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage. Dubbed the GigafactoryX, it will be built in the city of Pruszków, Poland, near Warsaw, and will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

The new plant will eventually include nearly 175,500 sq. ft. (16,300 sq. m.) of production area that will increase Impact’s production capacity to 1.2 GWh in 2024 and more than 4 GWh in 2027. It will also include a battery testing facility and an advanced research and development center.

teamtechnik Production Technology Poland, a TDJ-owned company specializing in building automated assembly lines for the e-mobility, industrial goods and life science industries, is responsible for the supply and installation of the production line dedicated to battery systems for electric buses.

The first phase line has dimensions of 58 by 19 meters and is the largest project implementation in the history of teamtechnik Poland for battery systems. In 2024, the line will enable production of 16,000 units of battery systems, compared to the current capacity of about 2,500 units. It includes full automation of processes such as robotic assembly of individual components, batching, screwing, vision inspection and a range of tests, and will use Bosch Rexroth’s TS7 conveyor system for the first time in the world, Impact noted.

“Thanks to the high automation of processes, we are raising not only the efficiency of production, but also the quality of the batteries produced,” said Bartek Kras, CEO of Impact Clean Power Technology. “The effect of the technologies used will be a fast assembly cycle of a single battery, which will be only 11 minutes. This is of great importance in view of the growing popularity of e-mobility and forecasts of increasing demand for battery systems in Europe.”

Assembly work is scheduled to begin in July 2023, with commissioning of the first automated production line scheduled for January 2024.

The fully automated production line will enable a new battery for heavy-duty e-mobility to be produced every 11 minutes. (Image: Impact Clean Power Technology)

“The first phase of the investment will allow us to increase production capacity to 1.2 GWh per year as early as next year, thanks to which we will guarantee the security of supply of battery systems for leading global brands, which are our partners,” Kras stated. “Ultimately, in 2027, production will reach 4 GWh per year.

Upon completion of construction, batteries will be made for various types of electric vehicles, including those serving public transportation, such as e-buses, e-trucks and the railway sector. Batteries made at the new Poland plant will have maximum dimensions of 1400 mm x 1000 mm x 400 mm and weigh up to 500 kg.

The plant will also produce energy storage systems designed for the commercial power industry, including for large-scale electricity storage, Impact said. The battery systems will be based on lithium-ion cells incorporating LTO (lithium titanate), LFP (iron-phosphorus) batteries and NMC (nickel-manganese) battery technologies.

“The creation of GigafactoryX means that Poland will be Europe’s leading supplier of batteries for the e-mobility industry, all based on Polish solutions,” Kras stated.

The new facility will be built in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and will be partially powered with energy from photovoltaic panels. A roughly 1-MWh energy storage facility is also planned, which will work in conjunction with the photovoltaic plant and the electric grid.