Northvolt proudly revealed on December 29 what it says is the first lithium-ion battery “fully designed, developed, and assembled at a gigafactory by a homegrown European battery company.” Although it is indeed all this, it could also be the first unified cell Volkswagen intends to put in its EVs.
If you do not remember what the unified cell is, Volkswagen conceived it as a prismatic platform for different chemistries. In other words, the German carmaker applied the modular architecture principle to batteries, which should help it reach a massive production scale with a standard cell format.
Volkswagen mentioned three primary chemistries for these cells: LFP (lithium iron phosphate, for entry-level vehicles), ternary batteries with high-manganese (for high-volume EVs), and high-nickel (for premium applications). When solid-state batteries are available, the unified cell will also work with it.
Northvolt states that its first cell is also prismatic, and the picture it disclosed shows it quite clearly. However, the unified cell looks longer and bigger than the battery Northvolt just revealed. At the Volkswagen Power Day, the German automaker presented images of a prototype, and it also apparently had smaller poles.
The explanation is that Northvolt has $30 billion worth of contracts with BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars, and Polestar for “varying formats.” In other words, Northvolt’s first cell may be one it will sell for one of these other car companies....
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