ProLogium Technology Co (輝能科技) expects the first electric vehicle (EV) equipped with its solid-state lithium battery to hit the road later this year, the company said yesterday in Taoyuan as it launched the world’s first factory for solid-state batteries for commercial use.
The factory is poised to supply up to 26,000 EVs when it reaches full capacity of 2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) a year, ProLogium Technology said.
The company has invested NT$4.2 billion (US$134.07 million) in the facility, which has initial capacity of 0.5GWh a year, or enough batteries for up to 14,000 vehicles, it said.
Photo: CNA
“This is the world’s first [solid-state lithium battery] mass-
production line, mainly targeting electric cars. EV [automakers] are our future partners,” company founder and chief executive officer Vincent Yang (楊思?) told a media briefing.
“Some projects may enter mass production this year,” Yang said, declining to name which automakers would make such a breakthrough.
Mercedes-Benz is one of ProLogium Technology’s shareholders and has been collaborating with the Taiwanese firm to adopt cost-effective and safer lithium batteries in its next-generation vehicles. Vietnamese automaker VinFast also holds an unspecified stake in ProLogium.
There are also plans for the Taoyuan plant to produce solid-state batteries for electric aircraft, other vessels, drones, robots and devices used in the aerospace industry, Yang said.
The new facility would serve as a demonstration factory for global expansion, particularly in Dunkirk, France, where ProLogium plans to build a 5.2 billion euro (US$5.65 billion) factory, the company said.
The French factory, which is to have an annual capacity of 48Gwh, is to enter mass production in 2027, Yang said.
The company aims to become the world’s biggest solid-state lithium battery supplier between 2030 and 2032, when its French factory reaches full capacity, he said.
By that time, ProLogium would have a 35 to 40 percent share of the world’s solid-state lithium battery market, if the penetration of solid-state lithium batteries makes up 7 percent of the global battery market, he said.
ProLogium expects the manufacturing costs of solid-state lithium batteries to drop to match the costs of ternary lithium batteries — about US$100 per kilowatt-hour — in 2032, Yang said.
ProLogium is the world’s sole supplier for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) tools, a crucial piece of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as its batteries are able to perform in extreme low-pressure environments, he said.
The Taoyuan factory is expected to serve the company’s Asian customers, while the French site would focus on Europe, the firm said, adding that it would not rule out building a factory in the US to tap that market.
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
TECH WINNERS: Taiwan and South Korea reported robust trade, which suggests that they have critical advantages in the rapidly expanding AI supply chain, an official said Exports last month surged to a new high, as booming demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure fueled shipments of advanced technology components, underscoring the nation’s pivotal role in the global semiconductor supply chain. Outbound shipments climbed to US$80.18 billion, the highest ever for a single month, rising 61.8 percent from a year earlier and marking the 29th consecutive month of growth, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. “The surge was driven primarily by global investment in AI infrastructure,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said. The mass production of next-generation AI computing systems has accelerated procurement across the semiconductor supply
RSS