Nissan has begun construction of a state-of-the-art, advanced lithium ion battery plant in Cacia, Portugal to support the rollout of electric vehicles as part of its alliance with Renault.
The battery plant is being built on a 30,450-square metre plot of land belonging to the Renault CACIA gearbox assembly plant following an investment of 156 million euros. The facility will start operations in December 2012 and will have a total capacity of 50,000 units a year, supplying batteries for models including the all-electric Leaf. About 200 jobs are expected to be created by the new plant.
“The Cacia plant will be one of three facilities in Europe supplying batteries to electric vehicles produced by the Alliance, starting with the 100 per cent electric Nissan LEAF. Together, the three plants will enable the Alliance to rollout electric vehicles in Europe on an unprecedented scale, bringing the world one step closer to a zero-emission future,” said Nissan’s Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Last April, Nissan began construction of a battery plant in Sunderland, United Kingdom, which will start operations in early 2012 with an annual capacity of 60,000 units. Renault’s battery plant in Flins, France will have a total production capacity of 100,000 units a year.
The new Cacia plant will also supply batteries for one of the four electric vehicles in the Renault Z.E. range, Fluence Z.E., which will be launched in autumn 2011.
The Alliance will have the capacity to produce 500,000 electric vehicles and batteries at its plants around the world by 2015, making it the only automotive group in the world to build electric vehicles and batteries on this scale.
