Rosatom and Avtotor Holding will produce electric vehicles

A plant for the production of batteries for electric vehicles will be built in Kaliningrad.

AVTOTOR is one of the largest automakers in Russia, the first in the country to start producing cars of foreign brands (BMW, KIA, Hyundai, Ford). It is located on the territory of a Special Economic Zone in the Kaliningrad region. During its operation (since 1994), it has produced more than 1,800,000 cars, providing 30,000 jobs.

In March 2022, AVTOTOR, Rosatom, the Government of the Kaliningrad Region and the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed an agreement on the organization and development of production of electric vehicles. The new plant in the Kaliningrad region will also produce lithium-ion cells and rechargeable batteries. Its total capacity will be about four gigawatt-hours per year. The construction of the plant and the further development of production will strengthen Russia's technological sovereignty and avoid dependence on imported components.

The government of the Kaliningrad region will contribute to the creation of charging infrastructure, increase the share of electric passenger transport and improve the investment climate of the region - it plans to increase the number of electric vehicles and other vehicles with a low-carbon footprint purchased in the region to 50%.

In turn, Rosatom, represented by the integrator company for energy storage systems LLC RENERA (part of the Rosatom Fuel Company TVEL), plans to build a plant for the production of lithium-ion cells and batteries in the Kaliningrad region. The plant with a total capacity of about 4 GWh per year will start operating in 2025 and will meet the needs of Russian automakers in traction batteries. Lithium-ion batteries of the Russian company will be used in electric buses, electric vehicles, special equipment, and the company will also produce stationary energy storage systems used in the power grid complex and industrial enterprises to ensure uninterrupted power supply and cover load peaks. AVTOTOR intends to organize the production of electric vehicles in Russia using batteries manufactured by RENERA LLC. The implementation is planned in three stages: the beginning of 2024 - the launch of production and the release of a pilot batch, the development of the production of charging stations, until 2025 - the expansion of the model range of manufactured electric vehicles, localization of its components, until 2030 - an increase in the production of electric vehicles and their localization.

The agreement is closely related to the implementation of the Concept for the Development of Production and Use of Electric Motor Transport in the Russian Federation. The construction of a full-scale lithium–ion energy storage plant in Russia is an important milestone for the implementation of Rosatom's strategy for the development of new non-nuclear businesses, as well as for the implementation of the Russian Government's Concept for the Development of Electric Transport in Russia until 2030. This project is important not only for the implementation of the state policy in import substitution, but also from the point of view of the goals and principles of sustainable development. This is a contribution to the economy of the region, and environmental protection, and the purity of atmospheric air, and ultimately – improving the quality of life of people. The availability of a localized battery is one of the strategically important factors determining the prospects of the AVTOTOR investment project for the production of electric vehicles and the accelerated introduction of electric vehicles in Russia as a whole. The signed agreement is aimed at import substitution, increasing economic efficiency in the creation of highly localized competitive products of Russian production and meets the priorities of the development of production and use of electric motor transport in the Russian Federation.

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