FREYR appoints industry specialist as CTO on its way to green battery cell production in Norway
FREYR has appointed Japanese industry specialist Ryuta Kawaguchi as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to support building the first battery cell manufacturing facility in Norway. Kawaguchi has extensive experience from battery development and production, and he will assume a leading role in developing FREYR’s large-scale, competitive and sustainable battery cell production in Norway based on 100% renewable, low-cost energy from hydro- and potentially wind power.
Before joining FREYR, Kawaguchi was solution-owner at Dyson EV Battery. He has also held various senior manager roles at Nissan responsible for battery technology development for Nissan LEAF and other EV models.
“The battery cell technology community in Europe is developing rapidly and we are therefore pleased to have secured a capacity such as Kawaguchi to drive our technical development”, says FREYR CEO Tom Einar Jensen and continues “We are early movers in the battery space, as no battery cell facility exists in Norway today and only a few facilities are currently operating in Europe.
“FREYR’s business model is intriguing seen from both a sustainability and an economical point of view. I look forward to leveraging my experience together with the rest of the organization and FREYR’s partners to move the first battery cell facility in Norway from the drawing-board and into reality”, says Ryuta Kawaguchi, FREYR’s new CTO.
“The people and resources behind FREYR represent extensive international industrial experience and a commitment to building and developing high quality products from day one. I’m proud to join that mission”, adds Kawaguchi.
Kawaguchi will travel to Norway to inspect the brownfield location for FREYR’s fast-track facility, currently targeted on the inside the industrial park in Mo I Rana as soon as travel restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 corona virus are lifted.
In April 2019, FREYR announced its ambition to build a 32+2 GWh battery-cell facility (a so-called Giga-factory), one of the largest in Europe, to produce lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells, based on proven technology through an in-licensing business model. FREYR is continuing to expand and cement its value chain and the company is firming up technology, raw materials, manufacturing and offtake partnerships. In addition, FREYR is creating an ecosystem of scientific, commercial and financial stakeholders to develop new market verticals to meet increased global demand of battery cells produced in Norway and the Nordic region in a responsible, environmentally and economically optimal way.
“Clean low-cost energy, deep energy intensive and process-industrial competence, low regulatory risk, solid perspectives on raw-materials sourced locally and a short distance to market makes Norway a globally leading location for green energy intensive industries” says Tom Jensen.
About FREYR
FREYR is a Norwegian Incorporated Company planning a combined 32+2 GWh lithium ion battery facility in Mo I Rana and a 600 MW onshore wind-park at Sjonfjellet in Rana and Nesna municipalities in Norway. The company’s products will target the rapidly expanding EV market in Europe and develop additional markets in the marine, stationary storage, short-haul aviation and offshore segments through cluster-based R&D initiatives with leading Norwegian and European institutions and companies.
Contact information
FREYR AS:
Tom Einar Jensen, Chief Executive Officer, tom.jensen@freyrbattery.com
Hilde Rønningsen, Director of Communication, hilde.ronningsen@freyrbattery.com
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