A key component of Volkswagen’s electric future may be partially manufactured in Göd (near Budapest), Hungary, in the coming years. As The Elec confirmed, Samsung SDI has won a major order from the German auto giant to manufacture so-called standard battery cells, and part of this task may fall to the Göd plant. If this report proves true, then we are not just talking about another supplier contract, but about the Hungarian factory potentially becoming a quiet yet all the more important pillar of the Volkswagen Group’s European battery strategy.
The Unified Cell was introduced by Herbert Diess, Volkswagen’s former CEO, at the Power Day event held in March 2021, and has since formed the backbone of the German manufacturer’s cell strategy. The essence of the solution is a standard-sized prismatic cell measuring 256 x 24.8 x 106 millimeters, which the company aims to use uniformly across as many models as possible. The logic is obvious: if every vehicle category uses the same base cell, economies of scale, procurement, and manufacturing are significantly simplified. Moreover, the cell is not limited to a single technology, as it can be flexibly adapted to the needs of individual models thanks to different battery chemistries.
Currently, production of the Unified Cell takes place at two locations: at the plant of Volkswagen’s own subsidiary, PowerCo, in Salzgitter, Germany, and at the Hefei factory of its Chinese partner, Gotion.
All of this fits perfectly with Volkswagen’s long-term “Make AND Buy” philosophy, the essence of which is that the company does not rely exclusively on its own PowerCo, but also has cells manufactured by external partners. Incidentally, when contacted by The Elec, PowerCo neither confirmed nor denied the South Korean report, citing the group’s general policy of not commenting on news related to its suppliers—this reticence typically signals caution rather than denial in this emerging industry.
It is worth translating the suggestive “tens of gigawatt-hours” capacity into real-world terms, as the source does not do so. If the combined annual capacity of the two converted lines in Göd is roughly 20–30 gigawatt-hours, and the battery of an average electric car stores roughly 60–70 kilowatt-hours, then this amounts to enough cells for approximately 300,000–460,000 electric cars per year. In other words, the Göd plant alone would be capable of supplying batteries for the entire EV output of a medium-sized European car manufacturer—this is what truly underscores the significance of the Hungarian component.
One of Volkswagen’s key goals is to use the same cell size in as many models as possible, and to achieve this, it can fill the standardized cells with different battery chemistries. Thanks to this, the same base cell could appear in a wide range of vehicles, from the upcoming entry-level ID. Polo, all the way up to large premium SUVs and even Porsche sports cars. In addition to the current lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistries, the design could even be compatible with solid-state batteries in the future, meaning that the newly converted production lines can be updated over the years in step with technological advancements without having to redesign the entire architecture.
Samsung battery factory. Photo: FB/Szijjártó
Although the news may seem recent, the partnership between Samsung SDI and Volkswagen is by no means unprecedented. As early as 2021, there were rumors that the South Korean company might be one of the manufacturing partners for Unified Cell, but neither party confirmed these reports at the time. The relationship between the two companies goes back even further, as the German automaker selected Samsung SDI as a supplier for certain battery cells as early as 2018. In light of this, the current rumor is not a sensational story pulled out of thin air, but rather the logical next step in a business relationship that has been developing for years.
Beyond mere capacity, the Göd production facility also has industrial policy significance. The Industrial Accelerator Act, being prepared by the European Union, aims to strengthen European value creation and enforce stricter “Made in EU” requirements in tenders and support programs. In this context, it is particularly valuable for Volkswagen that some of the uniform cells are manufactured not in Hefei, China, but on European soil—and specifically in Hungary. If current reports are confirmed, Samsung SDI’s plant in Göd will not simply be a supplier site, but one of the key European hubs for Volkswagen’s electric vehicle strategy in the coming years—a role that could bring long-term investments and jobs to the Hungarian economy.
Via e-cars.hu; Featured image: Pixabay
