Daimler takes 33% stake in European battery cell venture ACC

Daimler's Mercedes-Benz on Friday said it will take a 33% stake in battery cell manufacturer Automotive Cells Company (ACC) alongside the project's original founders Stellantis and TotalEnergies. ACC will supply Mercedes-Benz with battery technology from the middle of the decade, Daimler said.

Daimler's Mercedes-Benz on Friday said it will take a 33% stake in battery cell manufacturer Automotive Cells Company (ACC) alongside the project's original founders Stellantis and TotalEnergies. The purpose of the partnership is to develop cells and battery modules and "help ensure that Europe remains at the heart of the auto industry - even in an electric era," Daimler Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius said in a statement.

The company added that the battery cells produced would be 95% recyclable as per Daimler's goal of a CO2-neutral supply chain by 2039. ACC will supply Mercedes-Benz with battery technology from the middle of the decade, Daimler said. As part of the deal, Daimler will invest a mid-three-digit million euro sum in the project next year, adding that its overall investment was expected to stay below 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).

ACC, which has also received 1.3 billion euros in French and German funding, is budgeted to require seven billion euros in equity, debt, and subsidies to reach its desired capacity of 120 Gigawatt hours (GWh) by the end of the decade. ($1 = 0.8516 euros)