Taiwan’s ProLogium seeks European site for $8bln battery plant

By Nick Carey

(Reuters) – Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium Technology Co has shortlisted four European countries – France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom – for an $8 billion solid-state lithium battery plant, consulting firm Accuracy said on Monday.

ProLogium has appointed Accuracy to find a location for the plant, which should have a capacity of 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) to supply electric vehicles (EVs) and employ thousands of people, the consulting firm said.

The factory will be built over the next decade.

The consulting firm did not provide a deadline for ProLogium’s decision on the plant’s location.

Solid-state batteries could be a game changer for EVs as they should be able to store more energy, charge faster and offer greater safety than liquid lithium-ion batteries, helping accelerate the shift away from fossil fuel-powered cars.

Last year, ProLogium raised $326 million in its latest funding round that included investments from Primavera Capital Group, SoftBank China Venture Capital and others.

ProLogium and Mercedes-Benz are jointly developing solid-state batteries and the German premium carmaker has invested in the battery maker.

(Reporting by Nick Carey, Editing by Louise Heavens)