FREYR battery and ITOCHU partner to develop materials supply chain

FREYR Battery, a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, has announced a new service agreement with ITOCHU (“ITOCHU”), the Japan-based global trading and import/export company. As part of this agreement, ITOCHU will serve as a direct materials supplier for FREYR’s procurement and supply chain operations.

“We are excited to partner with ITOCHU, and we intend to build on their expertise in shipping, planning, and production, as we establish, maintain, decarbonize, and localize our growing supply chain. ITOCHU possesses a broad global network of trusted materials suppliers, which we believe will lead to meaningful benefits for FREYR as we cooperatively source and price high-quality materials,” said Dr. Tilo Hauke, EVP Supply Chain Management, FREYR.

“As the world moves towards decarbonization, we see FREYR as an integral part of enabling a clean and sustainable lithium battery industry. The supply chain will be an essential part of their journey towards greater speed and scale in the market, and we are eager to support them in sourcing the raw materials to meet their growing needs,” said Yasuhiro Abe, Power & Environmental Solution Division COO, ITOCHU.

FREYR and ITOCHU previously entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2020, which outlined a mutual intention to explore potential opportunities within lithium-ion battery production and related operations. As FREYR approaches initial production from the Customer Qualification Plant, the two companies are deepening collaboration to secure the raw materials required for FREYR’s planned battery production at giga scale.

ITOCHU and FREYR are both investors in 24M Technologies, FREYR’s U.S.-based technology licensing partner. The 24M production platform is designed to enable significant reductions in capital expenditures, factory footprint, energy consumption and raw materials.