Elinor Batteries Congratulates SINTEF on Opening the Battery Lab in Trondheim

Elinior attended the opening of the SINTEF Battery Lab in Trondheim, and are looking forward to working together on evaluating, validating and eventually developing battery technology there.

In the presence of employees and guests from research, education and industry, CEO of SINTEF Alexandra Bech Gjørv and Norway’s Minister of Industry Jan Christian Vestre declared the SINTEF battery lab open. Vestre was allowed to produce the lab's very first battery cell.

"This was very inspiring to be part of. This is actually a miniature battery cell factory, where you can test the entire value chain from materials to the cell, said Vestre.

"This industry will grow perhaps 20-25 fold until 2050. There will be no green transition without batteries, but it must be done even more technologically and innovatively, and costs must be reduced even more. And, of course, it must be done sustainably, and in this, Norway must lead the way with laboratories like this one, said Vestre.

Next generation batteries

Elinor Batteries was invited together with other industry representatives: Arvid Moss from Hydro Energy and Ketil Aagesen, who leads the battery venture BlueVault Technology at Siemens.

"In 2022, we will have a turnover of NOK 100 million on battery research, and we are involved in ongoing EU projects corresponding to approximately NOK 1 billion. We conduct battery research along the entire value chain, and the researchers who will run this lab are heavily involved in the next generation of sustainable batteries," said SINTEF CEO Alexandra Bech Gjørv.

Strategic cooperation

Earlier this year, Elinor Batteries and SINTEF signed an MoU on strategic cooperation in which the battery lab is central. The common goal of the collaboration is to create sustainable and competitive battery production in central Norway while simultaneously building a world-class competence environment on batteries through SINTEF's Battery Lab.

The collaboration with SINTEF and the competence at the lab is of great importance to Elinor, as Elinor Batteries' planned factory in Orkland will not be ready until 2026 at the earliest. Elinor can start utilizing SINTEFs expertise and lab immediately, and intend to have a sustainable partnership even when the full giga factory is in operation.

"Norway is being noticed"

"One of the things that Europe and the EU are noticing about Norway is that we are serious about the green industrial transition. They are very curious about what we are doing within the mineral industry, metals, low-carbon solutions and not least batteries," said the Minister of Industry.

"As you know, Europe is keen to make itself less dependent on countries it doesn't have the same type of cooperation with and is also very ambitious in building its own European value chains. They see that Norway can be trusted here."

"It's exciting that we can tell the Europeans that we can both extract minerals and metals in Norway, probably more sustainable than other countries. We can research and develop world-leading technology on cells and battery applications, we have two full-scale battery factories under construction, and we have the world's first full-scale recycling facility for used electric car batteries."

When Elinor Batteries starts the first construction phase of its factory in Orkland in 2024, it will be Norway's third gigafactory for batteries. Freyr is already working on its factory in Mo i Rana, and Morrow Batteries started construction in Arendal in January this year.