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From its headquarters in Yokohama , Japan , AESC Group ( AESC ) has established itself as a global leader in the development and manufacture of high-performance batteries for zero-emission electric vehicles and energy storage systems . Since 2007 , the company has been building manufacturing capabilities in the US , UK , Europe , Japan , and China to serve the world ’ s leading OEMs and energy storage providers . Its advanced technology powers over one million electric vehicles and provides more than 20 gigawatt hours of installed capacity for battery energy systems in over 60 countries .
“ There are currently more than one million cars on the road powered by our batteries . It is worth noting that we have a proven safety record , as there has never been any incident with our batteries . Continuing this trajectory , we are now expanding our presence in the US and Europe in response to the growing electric vehicle ( EV ) market ,” opens Knudt Flor , CEO of US and Europe .
Indeed , the rising popularity of EVs has presented significant opportunities for many businesses . Knudt observes how demand for such vehicles has grown over the past 17 years , since the inception of AESC . “ Originally , we were a single supplier to Nissan and offered only one type of battery . Today , there are many different battery types , such as cylindrical , prismatic and pouch , and a variety of new technologies , which have enabled us to gain numerous new customers . For example , we now supply batteries for Renault in France , are building a factory in Spain to serve new customers and have expanded our presence in the US with BMW and Mercedes as our main customers . In the UK , we primarily supply batteries to Nissan currently .
“ At the moment , a large portion of our customers require high-technology batteries , and the demand is extremely high in terms of gigawatt hours . In response , we are going to expand our production capacity , starting with the State of Tennessee , where we have a three-gigawatt factory primarily serving Nissan . We are also planning to increase our production capacity in Bowling Green , Kentucky and Florence , South Carolina , with a total of 30 gigawatt hours for each factory , a substantial increase . Likewise , our Sunderland operation in the UK was originally 1.8 gigawatt hours and is now growing to 15.8 extra gigawatt hours . In France , our facility , which supplies Renault , currently has a capacity of nine gigawatt but it will also increase to 24 gigawatt hours . These expansions are a direct reflection of the huge increase in demand in the EV and renewable energy market ,” he elaborates .
Zero-defect culture
Going back to his earlier mention of AESC ’ s impeccable safety record , Knudt lays out the measures in place within the company to uphold such high safety standards . “ More than one million cars in the EV market are running on AESC batteries , which I believe is a testament to our proven safety record . For us , safety is all about quality , and quality is achieved through the development of a thorough battery manufacturing process and incredibly tight process control . In line with that , everything we do to ensure quality is based and relies on cutting-edge technology . We leverage a lot of artificial
◀ Knudt Flor , CEO of US & Europe
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