Vietnamese private conglomerate Vingroup said Friday its subsidiary VinES Energy Solutions and Gotion High-Tech started construction of a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cell gigafactory in Vietnam.

The investment of this factory is about $275 million. It is located in central Ha Tinh and has a planned annual production capacity of 5 gigawatts – enough to produce 30m cells/year. Production start-up is expected in the third quarter of 2023. The LFP battery cells will be mainly used for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, Kallanish learns from the company.

“Located right next to VinES battery pack factory in Vung Ang Economic Zone, this new factory will complete the closed production cycle of LFP batteries in Vietnam, thereby increasing the localization rate on electric vehicles,” says VinES’s general director Pham Thuy Linh.

In August 2021, Vietnamese automaker VinFast and Chinese power battery maker Gotion High-tech signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the research and development, production, and supply of LFP batteries. 

“VinFast is helping to optimise production efficiency, and at the same time open up new development opportunities for Vietnam’s electric vehicle and clean energy industry,” adds Linh.