What Is ACC?

[Ghislain Lescuyer, Chief Executive Officer, Saft]

[What is Automotive Cells Company (ACC)?]

Ghislain Lescuyer: ACC is a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Stellantis, set up in 2020 to design and produce automotive batteries, and to become a leader in Europe and an international groundbreaker in its field. Why? Because, as a matter of industrial policy, Europe needs expertise in batteries, as a major component not only of electric vehicles, but other machines, such as trains, planes and satellites. ACC has now been created and has over 200 employees. There’s an R&D center in Bruges, near Bordeaux, which develops the latest technologies for cells, which are a battery’s basic components. There’s a pilot line at Nersac, next to a Saft site, which is being built. It should be ready by December when we will be able to launch production. ACC is different: first, it’s European and, second, it has Saft’s battery development expertise, while Stellantis contributes its automaker competencies in mass production, and can also provide business for ACC.

[Why is the arrival of a third partner at ACC good news?]

Ghislain Lescuyer: ACC is an equally owned joint venture between TotalEnergies Saft and Stellantis. We now have a third partner. A Germany company, Mercedes-Benz. The distribution will change, with one third for the new partner, one third for Stellantis and one third for TotalEnergies Saft. This third partner will contribute an even greater European focus than we had with TotalEnergies Saft and Stellantis. Now we have a German partner. In terms of added value, the third partner, in addition to the financial contribution, is also contributing R&D competencies, since they have pilot lines developing specific batteries for their models, which are high-end, high-quality vehicles, which will add to ACC’s expertise. So there’s a good balance between what each of the three partners is contributing.

[How does this strategy reflect TotalEnergies’ ambition?]

Ghislain Lescuyer: This announcement is 100% in line with TotalEnergies’ ambition, since TotalEnergies wants to be a major player in electric mobility and sustainable mobility. So we’ve just made an announcement about batteries. But TotalEnergies has also announced, for example, that it has been awarded two charge point contracts, in Antwerp and Singapore. This link in the value chain, the charge points, is totally synergistic with what we’re going with electric vehicles and batteries for electric vehicles. One important point about the whole value chain is that what TotalEnergies is about is research and innovation. The agreement that Saft is signing with a third partner will help it to boost its battery competencies. Batteries might be able to make vehicles go further, giving them greater range. They might make the cars more reliable, so the electric motor has no engine failures. All this with a view to ensuring the recyclability of the battery parts in order to reduce the carbon footprint of car user. So we have this focus on sustainability and that’s key in this value chain and TotalEnergies’ ambition. Through these partnerships, including the one we are announcing, TotalEnergies is a major player in the entire energy transition.