Volvo to build development centre in Torslanda
Volvo describes the new centre named ‘Mobility Innovation Destination Torslanda’ as a tailor-made test field for automotive development near the company’s headquarters in Gothenburg. Instead of focusing exclusively on technologies for wireless and bidirectional charging of electric cars and autonomous driving in development centres, “these will also be tested, validated and deployed in a city-like environment in the future,” Volvo says. The results of the centre will be reflected in the next generation of Volvo’s premium electric cars.
According to current plans, the campus with the new centre for mobility innovation will be connected to the Gothenburg Green City Zone initiative. In this zone, the city of Gothenburg, together with Volvo Cars and other companies, researchers and other stakeholders, wants to test new technologies for vehicles and infrastructure to achieve emission-free transportation by 2030.
In addition to new buildings and facilities for testing, technology and materials, Volvo Cars is also opening up its campus in Torslanda to start-ups and business partners. The new centre will be built as part of a collaboration between Volvo Cars and real estate developers Vectura Fastigheter and Next Step Group. “The sustainability goals of the project are ambitious. The first new building with an area of 25,000 square meters will be used exclusively by Volvo Cars and is a wooden hybrid that reduces the CO2 footprint by 15 per cent compared to a traditional steel and concrete frame,” the car manufacturer announced.
Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024 and the first building is expected to be completed in 2026 – in time for Volvo Cars’ 100th anniversary in 2027. “With this initiative we aim to create an ecosystem where we can develop the future of mobility – including cars, the technology inside of them and the infrastructure around them, all hand in hand,” says Jim Rowan, Chief Executive of Volvo Cars. “Our ambition is to pioneer technology, attract global talent and connect with other cutting-edge businesses.”
Volvo Cars and Northvolt only started building their joint battery cell factory in Gothenburg in September 2023. The factory, with a potential annual capacity of up to 50 GWh, is scheduled to go into operation in 2026 and employ more than 3,000 people. For Sweden, the plant is the second battery cell production facility after Northolt’s in Skellefteå. Volvo Cars and Northvolt first announced the plans for the plant in the Gothenburg district of Torslanda, in the immediate vicinity of the Volvo vehicle plant there, in February 2022. At the time, the aim was to have the plant up and running by 2025. The partners are now expecting 2026.
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