May 19, 2023: Russia claimed on May 12 it will have produced prototype batteries to power a domestic range of EVs and energy storage systems by the middle of the year.
Energy Storage Journal reported in January that prime minister Mikhail Mishustin said work had started on the first of a potential series of gigafactories, after foreign investors and partners quit the country over the war with Ukraine.
Now state-owned Rosatom says its energy storage manufacturing subsidiary, Renera, will have the first lithium ion battery prototypes ready by mid-2023 and plans to conduct a full cycle of tests by the end of next year.
Mass production of the batteries is set to start from 2025 at an initial 4GWh plant Rosatom claims to be building in the Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad.
The company said the EV batteries will have a driving range of up to 500km and be adapted to operation and charging at low temperatures, taking into account Russia’s complex weather
Renera director general Alexander Kamashev said: “Advanced technical characteristics of the battery will be achieved thanks to its unique architecture, as well as the use of modern lithium-ion cells.”
Kaliningrad, which lies between Poland and Lithuania, does not border mainland Russia but is home to Russia’s Baltic fleet. Rosatom has said previously that the Kaliningrad gigafactory will eventually produce 50,000 EV batteries annually.
US-based battery producer EnerSys announced in March 2022 that it was suspending its operations in Russia.
In April 2022, Batteries International reported that the introduction of tougher new EU rules to restrict trade with Russia were likely to include exports of lead batteries and related battery tech products and services.
Image: Rosatom