Italvolt, founded and led by Lars Carlstrom, the businessman who has been pioneering the automotive industry with over 30 years of experience and a former founder and stockholder of Britishvolt, is poised to build the first Gigafactory in Italy. The factory is destined to become the largest of its kind in Europe
and 12th in the world by size, with its 300,000 m2 of floor space and an initial capacity of 45 GWh. With an estimated 4,000 workers hired and 10,000 jobs created, the Italvolt Gigafactory is one of Italy’s most important projects in recent years, envisaging an overall investment of approximately 4 billion Euros.
The first stage of the project will be completed by Spring of 2024.
The first step of the project involves the identification of the area where the plant will be built, at the end of the due diligence activity currently underway on some selected sites at national level. To bring such a challenging project to completion, Lars Carlstrom has chosen Italy, the country renowned throughout the world for its excellence in creating innovative work in the field of technological research and for its long-standing leading role in the automotive industry at international level.
The new plant’s output will be capable of significantly contributing to the growing demand for batteries in Europe, mostly driven by the automotive industry, that will increase 17 times to approx. 3,600 gigawatt (GWh) by 2030, with an expected demand from the European Union of 565 GWh, second only to China’s expected demand of 1,548 GWh1.
Italvolt’s Gigafactory will be designed by the Architecture Division of Pininfarina, the iconic automotive design brand that has just recently celebrated its 90 years of activity and is already participating in other similarly large projects. With a strong focus on environmental and social impact, Pininfarina intends to develop a new-generation, intelligent and responsible industrial plant by applying DFMA construction methods and by opening the building out to its surroundings, making it merge into the economic and social fabric of the region.
Comau, a world leader in industrial automation, with over 45 years of experience and strongly specialized in electrification processes, will be the supplier of innovative solutions, systems and technologies for the gigaplant. Comau will also see to the construction of the Research & Development center that will be home to academic and industrial partners committed to the development of the most forward-thinking technologies in the electric vehicles sector.
Lars Carlstrom, CEO and founder of Italvolt, claimed: “With its Gigafactory project, Italvolt intends to seize the historical opportunity for green industrialization that is affecting all production sectors across the board, with a socio-economic impact that will recharge the global economy. The industrial ‘green transition’ is a favorite goal of mine and I am sure that with the launching of Italvolt this passion will take shape. I strongly believe that our team of highly qualified engineers and technicians will produce the most environment-friendly batteries not only in Europe but in the whole world. Our aim is to ensure the future of the automotive industry and guarantee that the supply chain be as green as possible, from start to finish. The socio-economic impact that this new green industrialization is introducing is a turning point for the world”.
