Change and current: two new gigafactories will provide the Russian Federation with modern batteries

By 2030, almost two thirds of the Russian market's demand for modern batteries will be provided by a new industrial cluster launched in Moscow on October 6. Vladimir Putin launched the work of two gigafactories via video communication during a meeting on the use of energy storage systems. The President called the creation of own energy sources a basic resource of the economy and a matter of technological sovereignty of the country. The new project will combine full—cycle production, from processing raw materials to creating batteries for electric buses, drones and data centers. To protect the technology, the first national certification center will also operate under the cluster, said Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

Why does Russia need its own energy storage facilities

On October 6, Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the development of the domestic energy storage system industry. This is a critically important area for the country. At the beginning of the meeting, the president called the creation of own energy sources a matter of technological sovereignty.

"Energy is a basic resource of the economy, therefore, it is necessary to introduce battery systems more widely into the electric grid complex, especially in territories where there is a shortage of energy resources," the head of state stressed.

Storage devices are needed today in all areas: from robotics and unmanned systems to data centers (which are only growing in capacity) and eco-friendly transport. Russia will focus on developing advanced and cutting-edge solutions, including so-called post-lithium technologies that provide higher energy intensity and environmental friendliness. Rosatom covers the entire production chain: the state corporation produces lithium in Russia and abroad, as well as engaged in the recycling of metals in a closed cycle.

One of the most important issues is the localization of production and the transition to domestic raw materials. To do this, it is necessary to actively develop deposits of mineral resources, introduce its own technologies, materials and software. To speed up this process, Vladimir Putin called on business, metallurgical, chemical companies, as well as science to join forces to develop lithium deposits, manufacture domestic electronics and software.

At the same time, Russia plans to build mutually beneficial cooperation in this area with foreign partners in order to adopt the best international practices. For its part, the government will provide comprehensive support to battery manufacturers.

How Moscow launches a sovereign industrial cluster

A new cluster in Moscow, based on which the production of rechargeable batteries will be launched, will help in achieving technological sovereignty. This is Russia's largest cluster, which is expected to provide almost two thirds of the domestic market needs for these modern devices by 2030, from the smallest batteries to large traction batteries for cars, buses and electric vessels. Nothing like this has ever been built in our country before.

The start of his work was given by Vladimir Putin via video link on the same day. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev participated in the launch ceremony directly at the site.

— Congratulations to you and all our colleagues who have been working and are still working on this topic, on today's event. I am sure that this will be another good step forward in solving one of the most important tasks that we are talking about, in the field of energy storage and related industries," Vladimir Putin addressed them.

Sergey Sobyanin revealed the details of the work of the new cluster in the special economic zone of the capital. He recalled that today Moscow is one of the main consumers of traction batteries — for electric buses, electric cars, riverboats, and soon for metro trains. At the same time, up to 40% of the cost of a modern electric car is accounted for by the battery, half of which is microcircuits and software.

— Without a modern domestic battery, there is simply no need to talk about some kind of technological sovereignty, - said the mayor of the city.

The created cluster consists of two gigafactories. The first one, for compact batteries for drones, household appliances, electric bicycles and data centers, was built in just 14 months after the president's order and will be launched by the end of the year. The second is a giant joint plant with Rosatom for the production of traction batteries, which is already fully operational. According to Alexey Likhachev, three production facilities are combined at once at the Moscow site: the manufacture of electrodes, the automated release of cells at a rate of one piece per second, and the robotic assembly of ready-made batteries for specific customers. At the same time, the annual capacity of the line of 18 million cells will make it possible to equip up to 50,000 electric vehicles per year with batteries.

— There is a very high degree of robotization here — 95%. But still, our main value is people, professionals. Today, the core has been formed, the average age of the team is less than 34 years old, and young people under 30 are graduates of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, the Chemical Faculty of Moscow State University and Bauman. This is a very young, talented and beautiful team," said Alexey Likhachev.

At the same time, Sergei Sobyanin drew the president's attention to another area of work — testing and certification of finished products, in particular, electrical appliances. About six months ago, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it was decided to create a modern domestic certification center. For now, domestic manufacturers are forced to send their products abroad for certification.

— Today we ship our products abroad, where they are certified within two years, while we give all our secrets, software, and technology. This is an unacceptable story," Sergei Sobyanin stressed.

It is expected that the national center will be operational next year and will effectively regulate the quality requirements of both Russian and imported products.