8. December, 2023, Chongqing, China — Stationary energy storage specialist Hithium has launched the first phase of 28GWh in new production capacity, as its facility in Chongqing, China, goes online. The new plant is designed in line with or exceeding intelligent “manufacturing 4.0” standards, including a 26% increase in automated processes over the typical “manufacturing 3.0” production line.

Hithium’s automation gains at Chongqing have resulted in an overall efficiency jump of 30%, as well as cost reductions amounting to a quarter of production overhead, delivering a significant lead in manufacturing competitiveness. Built with an investment of $1.8 billion, the site covers 800,000 m² and is located in the Tongliang high-tech zone. The new capacity aims at helping to meet global demand for what is expected to be 720GW of energy storage by 2030.*

Hithium President Jason Wang said, “Intelligent manufacturing is the key to more efficient and more cost-effective battery production. This new plant points the way to lower LCOS, and with it, an affordable energy transition. We’ve achieved production cost reductions of 25% at our new Chongqing facility — and it’s just the beginning.”

Hithium has invested in developing one of the most advanced production lines in the world, since mass production of battery cells is unusually demanding, given the highly complex manufacturing technologies required. Deviations in production can affect the performance, durability, and even safety of battery cells, with the smallest impurities or irregularities able to damage cells during operation and trigger further defects. Hithium’s production lines thus have thousands of process control points monitored in real time, of which a significant number are directly associated with a certified quality management system.

Automated manufacturing at this level particularly supports the consistency of Hithium products, with the new plant able to provide a battery cell capacity consistency at or under 3Ah. Additionally, for cells from the new facility, the voltage difference is within 3mV, the product discharge consistency is at or under 10mV, and the product process yield is over 95%.

*According to a recent BNEF analysis of the global energy storage market.