Chinese-owned AESC has pushed back plans in sign of slowing transition from petrol and diesel to electric cars
The UKs biggest gigafactory has shelved plans to expand production in Sunderland because of stalled talks on a deal to supply electric car batteries to Jaguar Land Rover .
Chinese-owned AESC produces batteries for Nissan at its gigafactory next door to the Japanese carmakers Sunderland plant. However, AESC has had to push back its ramp-up plans because of lower-than-expected demand from Nissan and the lack of a deal with JLR, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The delays are another sign of the slowing transition from petrol and diesel to electric cars. Andy Burnhams Labour government on Friday revealed that it could cut the UKs electric car sales targets further , in a potential blow to the electric vehicle supply chain.
Battery manufacturers in the UK and Europe have had a difficult few years as carmakers have retreated from previous ambitious targets to switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Several big European battery projects have gone bankrupt, while others have been forced to scale back plans in an industry dominated by Chinese players such as CATL and BYD , the worlds biggest maker of electric cars.
JLRs sister company, Agratas, is building its own gigafactory in Somerset, England. That plant is not scheduled to start production until 2027. The Guardian in June reported that Agratas has faced construction difficulties that could delay the start of production further.
JLR, Britains largest automotive employer, was close to a supply deal with AESC last year as part of its efforts to secure cells until the Agratas factory is up and running. It is understood JLR has reached agreements with other battery suppliers in the meantime.
The failure to secure JLR as a customer has had a knock-on impact on AESC. The Sunderland gigafactory has two manufacturing lines operating, but has so far held off installing a third line to supply JLR.
One person familiar with the situation said talks had stalled between JLR and AESC because the carmaker was unwilling to make formal financial commitments. Another person suggested that disputes over the cost and timing of the supply of batteries were the issue.
AESC also has plans for two more lines to supply Nissan . That is still understood to be the long-term plan, but the carmaker has slowed down its shift to electric as it goes through a painful process of shutting factories and laying off thousands of workers.
Some people who spoke to the Guardian said they had concerns over the scale of demand for Nissan in the next few years. Nissan has stopped production of its own cars on one of its two assembly lines in Sunderland in preparation for making cars for Chinas Chery . Chery could theoretically also source batteries for its cars from AESC, but it has not yet finalised the deal with Nissan.
The uncertainty over the plans reflects the changing mood in the electric car industry in recent years. Carmakers commitments to rapid electrification of their products have been scaled back as demand did not rise as quickly as expected and some governments C notably the US under Donald Trump C have turned against electric cars.
The slowdown in the transition plus higher interest rates caused problems C often terminal C for Europes battery makers. The most high-profile collapses were Swedens Northvolt and UK imitator Britishvolt , while Automotive Cells Company, co-owned by carmakers Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz and oil company TotalEnergies, has cancelled two gigafactory plans and Chinas SVolt ended efforts to build a German plant.
Speaking at an industry conference in June, an Agratas executive underlined the complexity of building and expanding gigafactories. Karthik Selvan, the Agratas chief procurement officer, said 1,000 shipping containers are needed to transport the equipment for a single assembly line, with half a kilometre of machines from end to end. Agratass gigafactory in Somerset will have 500km of pipes and 600km of wiring, he said.
Much of the factory must be operated as a clean room to prevent contamination of cells, while robots must be able to cut and seal cells to an accuracy of about two microns. A human hair can be about 40 or 50 microns thick.
The business that became AESC was first started within Nissan, producing batteries for the carmakers pioneering Leaf electric car with 1.8 gigawatt hours (GWh) of total capacity each year. In 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic boom in spending on green technologies, AESC said it was targeting a huge 38GWh of annual capacity. In recent years the company has said that was more an aspirational goal rather than a firm target. AESC is now aiming for annual output of 15.8GWh, enough for about 300,000 electric cars.
AESC has other European plants. Its French factory is understood to be performing well thanks to strong demand for the Renault 5, a hit electric car . However, construction of another gigafactory in Spain has been delayed.
A person familiar with the situation said that AESC is still confident in the prospects for long-term battery demand, including the possibility of making to store energy from intermittent solar and wind power. Last year AESC was able to secure a 051bn refinancing, including money from the UK government , to fund the Sunderland gigafactory.
The slower-than-expected ramp-up has also cast doubt on plans to build a microgrid to include power generation beside the factory for AESC and Nissan. The microgrid would have offered cheaper energy, making the energy-intensive factories more competitive against European or Chinese peers who pay less for electricity.
AESC, Chery and JLR declined to comment.
中资企业远景动力（AESC）推迟原定计划，此举标志着从燃油车向电动车的转型正在放缓
由于与捷豹路虎的电动汽车电池供应协议谈判陷入僵局，英国最大的超级工厂已暂缓在桑德兰扩大生产的计划。
中资企业远景动力（AESC）在日本汽车制造商日产桑德兰工厂附近的大型电池厂为日产生产电池。但据知情人士透露，由于日产的需求低于预期且未与捷豹路虎（JLR）达成协议，远景动力不得不推迟其增产计划。
延期举措再次表明，从燃油车向电动车的转型正在放缓。安迪·伯纳姆领导的工党政府周五透露，可能进一步削减英国的电动车销售目标，此举或将对电动汽车供应链造成打击。
过去几年，随着汽车制造商纷纷放弃从内燃机转向电动汽车的激进目标，英国和欧洲的电池制造商举步维艰。在欧洲，多个大型电池项目已宣告破产，其余企业也不得不在宁德时代（CATL）和全球最大电动车制造商比亚迪（BYD）等中国巨头主导的行业中收缩计划。
捷豹路虎（JLR）的姊妹公司Agratas正在英国萨默塞特郡建设其超级工厂。该工厂预计要到2027年才能投产。据《卫报》6月报道，Agratas在施工过程中遇到困难，可能导致投产时间进一步推迟。
英国最大汽车雇主捷豹路虎（JLR）去年曾接近与远景动力（AESC）达成电池供应协议，以确保在阿格拉塔斯工厂投产前的电池供应。据悉，捷豹路虎在此期间已与其他电池供应商签订了协议。
未能成功与捷豹路虎（JLR）达成合作对远景动力（AESC）产生了连锁影响。桑德兰超级工厂目前有两条生产线在运行，但至今仍未启动第三条专为捷豹路虎供货的生产线建设。
一位知情人士透露，捷豹路虎（JLR）与远景动力（AESC）的谈判陷入僵局，原因是这家汽车制造商不愿做出正式财务承诺。另有人指出，双方争议焦点在于电池供应的成本与时间安排问题。
远景动力（AESC）还计划新增两条生产线为日产供货。这仍被视为长期规划，但该汽车制造商在经历关闭工厂和裁减数千名员工的艰难过程中，已放缓了向电动化转型的步伐。
部分接受《卫报》采访的人士表示，他们对日产汽车未来几年的需求规模感到担忧。日产已暂停其位于桑德兰的两条装配线中一条的自有车型生产，为代工中国奇瑞汽车做准备。理论上奇瑞也可从AESC采购汽车电池，但目前尚未与日产最终敲定协议。
该计划的不确定性反映出近年来电动汽车行业的情绪变化。由于需求增长未达预期，且部分政府——尤其是唐纳德·特朗普领导下的美国——转而反对电动汽车，汽车制造商对其产品快速电动化的承诺已有所缩减。
转型进程放缓叠加利率上升，给欧洲电池制造商带来了问题——且往往是致命性的。最引人注目的破产案例包括瑞典的Northvolt及其英国效仿者Britishvolt；而由汽车制造商斯特兰蒂斯、梅赛德斯-奔驰与石油公司道达尔能源合资成立的Automotive Cells Company已取消两座超级工厂计划，中国的蜂巢能源也终止了在德国建厂的计划。
阿格拉塔斯公司一位高管在6月的行业会议上强调了建设和扩建超级工厂的复杂性。该公司首席采购官卡尔提克·塞尔万表示，仅一条生产线的设备运输就需要1000个集装箱，这些设备首尾相连长达半公里。他透露，阿格拉塔斯在萨默塞特建设的超级工厂将铺设500公里管道和600公里电缆。
工厂的大部分区域必须作为无尘室运行，以防止细胞受到污染，同时机器人需具备将细胞切割和密封至约两微米精度的能力。作为参照，人类头发的厚度约为40至50微米。
AESC的前身最初是日产汽车内部的一个业务部门，专门为该公司旗下具有开创性的聆风（Leaf）电动汽车生产电池，年产能总计1.8吉瓦时（GWh）。2021年，在新冠疫情推动绿色技术投资激增的背景下，AESC曾宣布将年产能目标定为惊人的38吉瓦时。但近年来该公司表示，这更多是一个愿景而非硬性指标。目前AESC的年产能目标调整为15.8吉瓦时，可满足约30万辆电动汽车的需求。
AESC在欧洲还设有其他工厂。据了解，得益于热门电动车型雷诺5的强劲需求，其法国工厂运营状况良好。然而，该公司在西班牙的另一座超级工厂建设进度已有所延迟。
一位知情人士表示，远景动力（AESC）仍对长期电池需求前景充满信心，包括开发储存间歇性太阳能和风能的可能性。去年该公司成功获得10亿英镑再融资，其中包括英国政府提供的资金，用于资助桑德兰超级工厂的建设。
进展慢于预期的情况，也让为远景动力（AESC）和日产（Nissan）工厂旁建设包含发电设施的“微电网”计划蒙上阴影。该微电网本可提供更廉价的能源，使这些能源密集型工厂在与电费更低的欧洲或中国同行竞争时更具优势。
远景动力（AESC）、奇瑞（Chery）和捷豹路虎（JLR）均拒绝置评。
