ABEE invests 27 million euros in battery research centre

On Thursday, chemical company Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering (ABEE) inaugurated a battery technology research centre in East Flanders. The company is investing 27 million euros in this market. The focus is on applications that could prove helpful for future electric cars or home batteries.

Starting as a relatively small player in the battery industry, ABEE now claims to be the "largest in the Benelux" with this new research facility. Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon and US Ambassador Michael Adler attended the centre's opening.

The company currently employs 60 people in Flanders and plans to build a sizeable 3GWh battery factory in Seneffe, Wallonia. Dour will also be the site for recycling 20,000 tonnes of batteries annually. Over the past five years, ABEE has invested around 130 million euros in the Belgian battery industry.

ABEE is also actively involved in ten European-funded scientific projects. It operates in Diegem, near Brussels, and plans to expand its activities to Northern Macedonia soon. The company will focus on research and development (R&D) of battery management systems (BMS), power electronics systems and mass production in the same field.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Illustration picture shows an electric car battery at the press opening of the 100th edition of the Brussels Motor Show, at Brussels Expo, on Friday 13 January 2023, in Brussels. © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}