Norwegian battery start-up FREYR Battery has opened its first US-based technology centre in Massachusetts to accelerate development of its Giga America project, Kallanish reports.

The facility in Boston, where FREYR’s technology partner 24M Technologies is also based, follows the opening of a similar unit in Japan earlier this month. The location will enhance technology development, collaboration, personnel development and strategic coordination, FREYR’s ceo Tom Einar Jensen said Monday.

“The US is a critical strategic market for FREYR. With the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the US is on a path to accelerate the buildout of clean, localised battery supply chains, which dovetails with our long-term strategy,” he adds.

The company and its JV partner Koch Strategic Platforms (KSP) are proceeding with site selection for their planned gigafactory. Conditional offtake agreements with Honeywell and Powin Energy, as well as the appointment of group cfo Oscar Brown, have been the latest progress in the US project.

The 50-50 JV is working to develop an initial 50-gigawatt-hour battery cell manufacturing plant in the US, using 24M’s SemiSolid platform technology to start with. The technology is intended to deliver capital and operational efficiencies compared to conventional production methods, FREYR says.