It's Time for a Breakthrough for Energy Storage: A Perspective from FREYR Battery, a New EASE Member

EASE is glad to extend a warm welcome to FREYR Battery who joined EASE in May 2021. Mr Bonduelle, Executive Vice President Sales, accepted to discuss with us about the expertise of FREYR Battery, in energy storage and expectations from this collaboration with EASE.

EASE: Mr Bonduelle, thank you very much for accepting this interview. We are very really happy to have FREYR Battery among our members and we would like to know more about your activities in the sector. Could you summarise the most interesting insights from the work of FREYR Battery for energy storage?

Mr Bonduelle: Thank you for the invitation! We are very impressed with the work EASE is doing and hope to work with you going forward. FREYR Battery just listed on the New York Stock Exchange in early July 2021 which raised enough capital to finance the building of 5 battery cell-producing facilities in Norway by 2025 up towards 35 GWh capacity. Our business proposition is to produce li-ion battery cells on renewable and low-cost energy in Norway. Norway also has a highly competent workforce and decades of experience in building production sites through their oil & gas sector. And finally, we will use the next generation of production technology for batteries from 24M based in Boston USA. This will allow us to use less energy, less space, less people and hence less costs.

EASE: We look forward to a very fruitful collaboration with you and to receive FREYR’s inputs for our Working Groups and Task Forces. What created the interest from your company to join EASE?

Mr Bonduelle: We are keen to see the regulatory framework for energy storage evolve to appreciate what we find essential for our industry namely sustainable products themselves. We want to collaborate to make sure batteries are not only supporting the transition in the transportation sector and energy systems, but also driving our own supply chain and use of energy towards sustainable solutions. And we need to establish circular systems in the value chain with recycling of waste materials as well as taking care of the batteries themselves after usage. This is our vision and mission. We believe EASE is most well situated to facilitate this understanding and dialogue with policy makers and the industry.

EASE: What is your vision for how storage can contribute to the energy transition?

Mr Bonduelle: What we are seeing over the last months and weeks is just incredible understanding in all markets of the need for energy storage and in particular batteries in the energy transition. And with new li-ion battery production technologies like 24M combined with scale, speed and sustainability focus we believe this is the time to really have a breakthrough for energy storage in all segments. The world needs to cut climate-gas emissions by 50% within the next 9 years. Massive use of batteries in EVs and ESS can achieve that. And the world both needs to and seems to be willing to make that happen!

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