PowerCo appoints René Reif as COO
René Reif has been with PowerCo since 2025 and was most recently responsible for developing the St. Thomas gigafactory in Canada. Previously, he spent over 30 years at Daimler AG. As Chief Operations Officer, he will now oversee the planning, construction, and operation of PowerCo’s battery cell factories in Europe and North America. In addition to the Canadian factory, which he already oversees, these include PowerCo’s European plants in Salzgitter (operational) and Sagunt, Spain (under construction).
As noted, the internationally experienced manager joined PowerCo last year, marking his first role within the Volkswagen Group. Before this, he spent over three decades in leadership positions at Daimler AG, including assignments in Brazil and China. Most recently, he was responsible for the Mercedes engine plant in Berlin.
Reif succeeds Sebastian Wolf on the PowerCo board, who is leaving the Volkswagen Group at his own request. Wolf joined PowerCo from the European division of the Chinese battery manufacturer Farasis Energy and built up the Operations division of PowerCo SE as COO from 2021. “A major milestone was the successful commissioning of the Salzgitter gigafactory at the end of 2025,” PowerCo stated.
It remains unclear where Wolf will go next. Born in 1990 and holding a degree in engineering science from RWTH Aachen University, the University of Bath, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, he previously held leadership roles at Volkswagen Group, Bosch, the Boston Consulting Group, and Farasis Energy.
“Sebastian Wolf played a key role in developing the standard factory concept and shaped the start-up phase of PowerCo through the “Line Zero” validation line and the construction of cell factories in Salzgitter, Valencia and St. Thomas. With these contributions, he has helped position PowerCo as a European technology driver in the battery industry. On behalf of the entire PowerCo SE, I would like to express my gratitude for his dedication and wish him every success in his future role,” said Thomas Schmall, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PowerCo SE.
Schmall added: “With René Reif, we have gained a highly experienced production expert. For more than three decades, he has built and managed factories and global production networks around the world. Under his leadership, we will continue to systematically ramp up the cell factories in Salzgitter, Valencia and St. Thomas and further strengthen PowerCo’s global production network.”
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