FREYR said its final investment decision (FID) was to proceed with a Customer Qualification Plant and battery cell production line at the planned facility.

The customer plant will be used for materials testing and to develop samples for potential offtake partners, said the company. 

"The qualification plant will become the first lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility at industrial scale in Norway, supporting the core tenets of our strategy of speed, scale and sustainability," said Tom Jensen, the CEO of FREYR.

The company plans for the plant to reach a capacity of up to 35 GWh in battery cell production capacity by 2025. The qualification plant is the first of a total of five factories planned for Mo Industrial Park.

 "The rapid development of initial production capacity supports ongoing customer dialogues as it will validate and improve technology, materials and cell designs as we prepare for commercial production at our planned Gigafactories," said Einar Kilde, EVP Projects in FREYR.

In February, FREYR agreed to purchase 3,700 tonnes of "ethically sourced" cobalt metal cut cathodes from Glencore for its plants.

FREYR and Glencore also signed an agreement in December that included collaboration on standards and traceability schemes for artisanal cobalt mining. 

The MOU also covered joint research and development (R&D) projects that will "adjust the quality, shape or form" of Glencore's raw materials, and cooperation on blockchain technology.