Energy Absolute is collaborating with two prominent Chinese battery manufacturers, Eve Energy and Sunwoda Mobility Energy Technology, to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of battery cell plants in Thailand.
Amorn Sapthaweekul, the deputy CEO of Energy Absolute, revealed that the company has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Eve and Sunwoda, leading battery manufacturers in China. Both companies have shown keen interest in expanding their presence in the battery market within Thailand.
The partners would jointly study and set up battery cell production plants with a capacity of 6 gigawatt hours (GWh) in Thailand, he said.“The results of this study are expected to lead to the establishment of high-capacity battery cell production plants with competitive costs in the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage system industries, to meet the demand for batteries in EA’s group of companies and in the Thai and Asean markets. This move will support the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Thailand with continuous investment,” he added.
After successfully completing the feasibility study, Energy Absolute (EA) plans to announce Amita Technology (Thailand) as its partner from China for constructing a Prismatic Battery Cell production plant. This facility will utilise advanced automated manufacturing technology, benefiting from low raw material costs due to a reliable Chinese partner with a complete raw materials supply chain.
The primary objective is to develop efficient and highly safe new batteries, while also expanding battery pack production to achieve production costs similar to those in China. The production plant is expected to be one of the largest battery cell manufacturers in Thailand and will cater to the increasing battery demand in Thailand and the ASEAN region. The target clients will include EV manufacturers and energy storage system manufacturers. Initially, the factory will have a production capacity of 6GWh per year in Thailand to support the 30/30 policy.
The 30/30 policy, which stipulates boosting zero-emission vehicle (EV) manufacturing capacity by 30% by 2030 in Thailand, has also encouraged investment in battery production for electric vehicles by the government, making this project feasible and instilling confidence in investors. Amorn emphasised the importance of implementing measures to accelerate and promote this policy, as it would help Thailand become a prominent centre for lithium-ion battery production and a leader in the electric vehicle industry within ASEAN in the future.
Eve is the third-largest lithium-ion battery technology service provider in China, with a production capacity of around 360GWh, using state-of-the-art technologies for Internet of Things (IoT), electric vehicles, and energy storage systems.
Sunwoda is the fifth-largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer for EVs in China and ranks ninth in the global market, with a production capacity of over 100GWh per year. Sunwoda plans to increase its capacity to 138GWh by 2568 and aims to enter the European market and establish battery production plants in Hungary.
