LG Chem has succeeded in optimizing its electric vehicle battery plant at Poland, TheElec has learned.
The yield rate at the plant in Kobierzyce, near Wroclaw, is now close to 90%, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Last year in October, yield rate at the plant was in the 70% range.
The boost in productivity was thanks to added automation equipment that replaces human operators. LG Chem had difficulty securing operators and educating them prior to the installation of new kits.
The fourth line at the second factory there, which is dedicated for supply to Volkswagen, is over 90%, they said. The batteries made in the line is used for the Modular Electric Drive, or MEB, platform.
The fifth line and sixth line also make batteries for Volkswagen as well as Audi and Porsche.
The improvement in yield rate was faster than LG Chem expected. The company is giving credit to the task force sent to the plant in August that was tasked with reorganizing operations.
Automation isn’t completely done but the company believes it took care of urgent problems the plant faced.
The Poland plant has two factories with seven production lines. In total, they will have a production capacity of 40GWh per year this year. LG Chem’s total production capacity this year will be between 100GWh and 110GWh.
