Major Apple supplier Foxconn breaks ground on first EV battery plant

Foxconn, a key iPhone supplier, broke ground on its first battery cell facility in southern Taiwan, Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday.

“We plan to build a localized ecosystem for the battery supply chain, from materials to battery cells and battery packs, in Kaohsiung,” Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The city will become an important base for Foxconn’s EV global footprint.

Trial production of lithium iron phosphate batteries in the city is set to commence in the first quarter of 2024, with a capacity of 1.27 gigawatt hours. The batteries will be first used in electric buses, electric passenger vehicles and energy storage systems. 

Foxconn’s battery-related investments in the city, according to Liu, will total up to $202 million, and will comprise facilities for electric bus assembly, energy storage systems, and a research and development center.

Once the ecosystem in Kaohsiung is up and running, Indonesia will likely become the location of Foxconn’s first overseas battery plant, Liu said.

The iPhone assembler has been stepping up efforts to expand its presence in the booming EV industry in recent years. In October 2021, Foxconn introduced two passenger EV models and an electric bus prototype at its annual Foxconn Technology Day event.

The company is also increasing its investments in automotive semiconductors by purchasing a chip facility in Hsinchu, a city in northern Taiwan, and planning to set up chip facilities in India and Malaysia.

Last year, the company has set targets for its EV business, aiming that its designs, components, and parts would account for 5% of global EV markets by 2025 and generate NT$1 trillion in EV-related revenue by 2026.