Stellantis Inaugurates First Battery Technology Center in Italy

10 Sep, 2023

Stellantis Inaugurates First Battery Technology Center in Italy

Stellantis marked a significant milestone with the inauguration of its inaugural Battery Technology Center at the Mirafiori complex in Turin, Italy. This €40 million investment signifies a state-of-the-art facility that will greatly enhance Stellantis' capacity to design, develop, and rigorously test battery packs, modules, high-voltage cells, and the accompanying software that will drive the forthcoming Stellantis brand vehicles. This center is not only Italy's largest but also ranks among Europe's most extensive facilities dedicated to battery technology.

At the heart of this Battery Technology Center, more than 100 employees, many of them upskilled Stellantis personnel, will spearhead essential functions. These include overseeing climatic stress tests, conducting lifespan durability examinations, engaging in battery management system (BMS) software development and calibration, and disassembling battery packs and cells for meticulous analysis and benchmarking.

Moreover, Stellantis is strategically constructing another Battery Technology Center in North America, situated in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. This move is a vital part of Stellantis' overarching vision for a global battery development and manufacturing network, which encompasses the establishment of six gigafactories.

Ned Curic, the Chief Engineering and Technology Officer at Stellantis, articulated the company's transformative mission: "We are in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redefine mobility, providing smart and sustainable solutions for our customers. Our new Battery Technology Center at Mirafiori brings together the tools and talented people we need to design, test, verify, and produce class-leading products that will meet our customers’ needs and accelerate bringing class-leading electric vehicles to customers around the world."

This inauguration reaffirms Stellantis' steadfast commitment to Italy and its dedicated workforce.

The core of Stellantis' strategy revolves around vertical integration, spanning pivotal milestones for electric vehicle battery packs. This encompasses everything from initial design and development through rigorous testing to final production. This comprehensive approach ensures that Stellantis remains at the forefront of delivering class-leading Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) characterized by customer-focused performance. As elucidated in the EV Day 2021 presentation, Stellantis' battery plan encompasses a dual chemistry strategy designed to cater to diverse customer needs, along with a strong focus on efficient battery cell and module design, as well as housing and pack assembly, all geared towards cost competitiveness.

The Mirafiori Battery Technology Center encompasses an impressive 8,000 square meters (86,111 square feet) spread across three levels. At its core are 32 climatic test chambers, comprising 24 walk-in chambers tailored for battery pack testing and an additional eight chambers dedicated to the examination of individual cells.

Within these walk-in chambers, precise control over humidity and temperature is exercised, offering a range from -40 to 60 degrees Celsius (-40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit) with a maximum temperature change rate of 20 degrees per minute. This facility can simultaneously test up to 47 battery packs, ensuring efficient and thorough evaluation.

The technology center is purposefully designed with future growth in mind. Its power system boasts the capability to handle up to 1.2 kilovolts (kV) and 2.2 megawatts (MW) per test cell, ensuring adaptability to evolving requirements.

Furthermore, the eight-cell chambers are primed for testing 96 cells concurrently, primarily dedicated to scrutinizing innovative battery chemistry and characterizing cell behavior for future advancements.

In line with Stellantis' Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, the company has outlined its ambition to achieve a 100% passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe and a 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by the year 2030. To realize these objectives, Stellantis is actively securing approximately 400 GWh of battery capacity, supported by the establishment of six battery manufacturing plants across North America and Europe. Moreover, Stellantis is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2038, encompassing all scopes and featuring single-digit percentage compensation for remaining emissions.