PowerCo designs, develops, and manufactures battery cells entirely in Europe, thereby strengthening the company's technological sovereignty. The battery cells will be supplied to Volkswagen Group brands for final road tests. Their debut is scheduled for next year in the Volkswagen, Škoda, and Seat/Cupra electric vehicle range.
It is expected that within Volkswagen Group, PowerCo will cover about 50 percent of the demand for unified power cells, with the remaining half being supplied by third-party suppliers. The standardized cell architecture allows them to be used worldwide across all brands and regions, providing economies of scale, cost advantages, and technological flexibility — from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) to nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and solid-state power cells.
The first unified PowerCo cell is based on NMC technology and is one of the most powerful batteries in the mass segment. Compared to previous cells, it provides about 10 percent more energy density. In addition, it is perfectly synchronized with Volkswagen's new "cell-to-block" battery system, providing advantages in range, efficiency, and performance. It is produced in Salzgitter. In the future, other options will also appear, such as a unified PowerCo cell with LFP technology.
The production of unified PowerCo cells will be gradually ramped up next year. In the first phase, the production capacity of the Salzgitter plant will be up to 20 GWh, allowing about 250,000 electric vehicles to be powered. In the future, if necessary, the facility can be expanded to 40 GWh. Salzgitter will be the lead plant for future PowerCo gigafactories in Valencia (Spain) and St. Thomas (Canada).
Source: Volkswagen Group
