Automotive Exports March 2021

TOGG
cooperates
with Farasis for
li-ion battery
production
Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group
(TOGG), which is producing the country’s
first fully indigenous electric car, signed
a letter of intent with leading lithiumion
(li-ion) battery producing company
Farasis Energy for the production and use
of battery cells in the full range of TOGG
products, the company said in a press
release.
According to the agreement, battery
cells will be provided by Farasis and the
battery modules and packs will be jointly
developed and produced in Turkey.
The agreement was signed between the
board chairpersons of both companies in
Bilişim Vadisi (Informatics Valley) in the
northwestern Kocaeli province of Turkey.
TOGG CEO Gürcan Karakaş, commenting on
the cooperation, said that the agreement
was signed as a result of a large-scale
evaluation process initiated in 2018
during which more than 30 global battery
suppliers have been evaluated, within the
framework of confidentiality agreements
(NDAs), including possible domestic
collaborations.
“Among them, the company that best met
our technical, commercial and strategic
criteria and one of the world’s leading li-Ion
battery manufacturers, Farasis, has been
chosen as our business partner,” he said.
Karakaş noted that it is important
to produce this technology, which is
considered one of the most important
and fundamental technologies for electric
vehicles today, within the country with an
important player in the sector.
“TOGG’s mobility ecosystem will become
an important regional player that develops
technology and produces serious economic
value,” he added.
Li-ion batteries are a fundamental
component of an electric car.
In addition to supplying batteries, the
two companies will also expand their
cooperation through a joint venture
company, which is set to combine Farasis
technology with the country’s automotive
industry leaders, to provide battery energy
storage solutions for Turkey and the
surrounding region.
Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, chairperson of the
Union of Chambers and Commodity
Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) – the umbrella
organization for the TOGG, said in a
statement following the signing ceremony
that the joint venture established with
Farasis “will be an initiative to increase
the efficiency of our country’s energy
system, reduce our country’s dependence
on foreign energy, and accelerate our
development of a clean and efficient
energy system.”
“This cooperation will go beyond producing
electric vehicle batteries in Turkey and also
improve battery R&D competencies in our
country, trigger automotive manufacturers
to bring their electric vehicle projects
to our country and enhance the energy
storage business with nonautomotive
energy storage products in Farasis’ product
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