Companies that need batteries are placing bets with the firms that make them.
The industrial giant Siemens has announced a €10 million (USD $12 million) investment in the Swedish battery manufacturing venture Northvolt.
Siemens said in a press release that the agreement would include equipping Northvolt’s upcoming lithium-ion gigafactory with an enterprise IT platform to enable “the digitization of the entire value chain, from the design of the battery cell to production and services.”
The partnership will also see Siemens becoming a Northvolt battery customer once the gigafactory begins operating in 2020.
The “digital enterprise” system will support everything from manufacturing planning and design software to automation, including industrial communications networks and cloud solutions, Siemens said.
“Siemens sees the Northvolt initiative as a reference project for the battery production of the future,” according to the company.
Cutting-edge IT is viewed as an important ingredient in helping gigafactories achieve the efficiency levels needed to deliver rock-bottom battery prices.
Read more: Greentech Media