Global smart energy company opens battery cell facility in Sth Korea

Global smart energy company SolarEdge Technologies, Inc, and its subsidiary Kokam Limited Company, a provider of lithium-ion batteries and integrated energy storage solutions, have announced the opening of ‘Sella 2’, a two gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery cell manufacturing facility. Located in the Eumseong Innovation City of Chungcheongbuk-Do, South Korea, Sella 2 is currently producing test cells for certification, with ramp-up expected during the second half of 2022.

SolarEdge addresses a broad range of energy market segments through its PV, storage, EV charging, batteries, UPS (uninterruptable power supply), electric vehicle powertrains and grid services solutions.

Once ramped, Sella 2 will enable SolarEdge to have its own supply of lithium-ion batteries and the infrastructure to develop new battery cell chemistries and technologies. The facility plans to manufacture battery cells for SolarEdge’s residential solar-attached batteries as well as battery cells for a variety of industries, including mobile applications, energy stationary storage solutions and UPS applications. The facility can scale its battery cell capacity in the future to support the growing needs for storage solutions offered by the company.

SolarEdge’s Chief Executive Officer, Zvi Lando, said the opening of Sella 2 was an important milestone for SolarEdge. “It allows us to own key processes in the development and manufacturing of advanced energy storage solutions for our solar core business and additional applications, while further securing the resilience of our supply chain,” he said.

“We are committed to growing our business in the energy storage market, as well as our investment in battery cell technology and cell manufacturing, further strengthening our storage product portfolio.”