Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (centre) at the factory’s ground breaking ceremony. VIETNAM NEWS AGENCY
Construction of the VinES battery manufacturing factory costing four trillion dong ($174 million) began on December 12 in Vung Ang Economic Zone of central Vietnamese Ha Tinh province, in the presence of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Financed by local conglomerate Vingroup, the factory will be developed on 8ha in its initial phase, providing lithium batteries for VinFast’s electric cars and buses.
A Vingroup spokesperson said in a statement: “It marks a significant step in implementing Vingroup’s ‘three-pillars’ battery strategy, including procuring batteries from the world’s top manufacturers, collaborating with partners to produce the world’s best batteries, and conducting in-house research and development for battery production.
“This is very first and most advanced battery plant in Vietnam to be equipped with European- and American-standard technologies that boast an astounding workflow automation rate of 80 per cent.
“Vingroup is also working with strategic partners, including the world’s leading companies in pioneering technologies for the production of electric vehicle [EV] batteries.”
The entire infrastructure of the factory, including a casting shop, a welding shop, and a packaging (battery pack) shop, is designed to produce 100,000 battery packs per year. The second phase of the factory will expand production to include battery cells manufacturing and upgrade capacity to one million battery packs per year.
During the factory’s groundbreaking ceremony, the president spoke highly on Vingroup’s operational strategy adjustment, which has shifted from the field of real estate investment and trading to hi-tech and services industries.
Phuc said the “timely adjustment” also demonstrated what he described as Vingroup’s significant participation in the process of restructuring and modernising the nation’s economy.
He said the success of Vingroup manifests in its gradual transition into an industrial and technological group that not only inspires other economic groups in Vietnam but also plays an important role in creating the “Make-in-Vietnam” ecosystem for producing, recycling and reusing renewable energy batteries.
He added that proactively capturing and developing battery technology was a key component to help VinFast quickly realise its strategic goal of becoming a global smart EV company.
Self-battery production would ensure the supply of diverse and suitable batteries for each line of VinFast EVs while better meeting the battery needs of the domestic and international EV market, contributing to the global EV revolution.
Vingroup vice-president and CEO Nguyen Viet Quang said construction of the factory reflected his firm’s efforts to establish a clean energy ecosystem that contributes to the localisation of VinFast’s supply.
“Furthermore, we have been promoting collaboration with many prestigious partners around the world, including firms in the US, Israel, Taiwan and mainland China, to research, develop and apply cutting-edge battery technologies such as super-fast charging, 100 per cent solid-state batteries and highly advanced battery materials,” he said.
Vo Trong Hai, chairman of Ha Tinh People’s Committee, praised what he called Vingroup’s important contributions to the provincial socio-economic development in the past.
VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
