Energy Absolute opens Aseans largest battery factory to power electric vehicles, cut emissions

Energy Absolute (EA) has launched the largest lithium-ion battery factory and integrated energy storage system in Asean courtesy Amita Technology (Thailand) in a bid to build a complete new S-Curve ecosystem.

The factory, located on a 90-rai plot in the Eastern Economic Corridor, will have a production capacity of 1 Gigawatt hours (GWh) per year.

The facility is designed to produce the pouch cell type of lithium-ion batteries using intelligent systems and modern automated production to ensure the highest efficiency and low-cost production.

EA plans to expand the factory’s production capacity to 50 GWh per year in a bid to help Thailand become a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles and power storage.

CEO Somphote Ahunai said the factory would be the heart of electric vehicle production and introduce stable renewable energy for daily use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He said the facility’s production process also emphasises the concept of energy efficiency and waste reduction by focusing on recycling as much as possible.

“In cooperation with Amita Technologies, which is a manufacturer and distributor of lithium-ion batteries in Taiwan for more than 20 years, EA has entered into investment and experience and technology transfer in building the factory, which has a larger production capacity at world-class level,” Somphote said.

He explained that the pouch cell lithium-ion battery has high capacity, light weight and a long life cycle and does not contain harmful substances such as acid or lead.

He said the battery is environmentally friendly as it is easy to separate its positive and negative plates in the recycling process, thanks to special techniques to produce cells.

“In addition, Amita’s battery is designed to be compatible with Ultra-Fast Charge technology that can charge large electric vehicles in just 15 minutes and supports up to 3,000 charge cycles, which will be a welcome highlight in the use of large commercial electric vehicles,” Somphote said, pointing out that “the battery can be used in all types of electric vehicles, such as cars, trucks, buses and even boats to help reduce emissions caused by internal combustion engines.”

He said a 1 Gigawatt lithium-ion battery in 4,160 electric buses can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 91,709 tonnes per year and reduce diesel consumption by more than 97 million litres per year.

“Apart from being able to produce battery cells on its own, EA has expanded its supply chain to reduce costs, waste and external dependence,” Somphote said.

“In this regard, a solvent distillation tower was built to be used in battery cell manufacturing to purify the cells until they can be recycled, resulting in less waste and a reduction in raw materials imported from abroad,” he added.