Stellantis, TotalEnergies bring Mercedes-Benz on board for EV battery cell JV

Amsterdam-based automobile conglomerate Stellantis NV (EPA:STLA) and French energy major TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTE) are attracting German carmaker Daimler AG's (ETR:DAI) Mercedez-Benz division as an equal shareholder in electric vehicle (EV) battery cells maker Automotive Cells Company, or ACC, under a plan to boost the unit's capacity through EUR 7 billion (USD 8.2bn) in equity, debt financing and subsidies.

As part of the deal, Mercedes-Benz will provide technology and production know-how to ACC, a statement showed on Friday. The German car maker will work with Stellantis and TotalEnergies to develop battery factories that will increase the joint venture's cell capacity to at least 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) by 2030.

The deal's financial specifics and ACC's valuation were not disclosed.

France-based ACC was founded by Stellantis subsidiary Groupe PSA and Total, through battery-making subsidiary Saft, in the summer of 2020. The project benefits from the financial support of French, German and European public authorities, with the aim of creating a European EV battery champion.

ACC has a research and development (R&D) centre and testing facilities near Bordeaux, France, with two more French sites, one of which is to go live in 2023, as well as a planned battery cell plant in Kaiserslautern, Germany due to begin production in 2025.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.171)

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