New batteries have been added to the batteries used in many fields from robotic systems to guidance kits, from radios to torpedoes in the Turkish Armed Forces. ASPİLSAN Enerji, which powers the Turkish army, has reached a production capacity of 24 thousand units per day with its new investment, Lithium-ion Cylindrical Battery Production Facility. Rechargeable batteries can be used in fields such as hybrid vehicles and medical like military technologies.

Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank inspected Europe's first and only cylindrical lithium-ion battery production facility established by ASPİLSAN Enerji with an investment of 1.5 billion Turkish liras, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan officially opened. Noting that the energy industry is undergoing a major transformation, Minister Varank said, "We want to make Türkiye an important player in both the battery industry and storage technologies."

Minister Varank, who made inspections on lithium battery production lines, was accompanied by AK Party Group Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitaş, former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız and plant officials.

Making an assessment after his examinations, Minister Varank said:

SERIOUS TRANSFORMATION: The energy industry is going through a major change and transformation. In particular, with the electrification of automobiles, there is a very serious transformation in the energy sector. Lithium-ion batteries are also very essential players in this transformation. We support investments in lithium-ion batteries in Türkiye. We also supported this investment of ASPİLSAN with our incentives.

IT WILL BE THE IMPORTANT PLAYER: Togg, Türkiye's automotive company, has teamed up with Farasis to invest in battery technology for the automotive industry in Türkiye. Moreover, the global Ford company has also announced its intention to invest in battery technology in Türkiye. In addition, our different companies are currently investing in storage technologies in Turkey. We want to make Türkiye an important player in the battery industry and storage technologies.

PRODUCTION OF 24 THOUSAND PIECES: ASPİLSAN has already implemented one of the most important of them. This is a facility established with technology transfer. They developed the technology with their partners in Korea and are currently producing it here. 24 thousand of these 18,650 model batteries can be produced at this facility per day. The production of these batteries is also increasing. There are productions that switch from a single shift to 2 shifts. We will continue to work to make Türkiye an important player in this field.

RAW MATERIALS FROM TÜRKİYE Bunun içerisinde kullanılan ham maddelerin birçoğu maden olarak şu anda ülkemizde de bulunuyor. Bu madenlerin çıkarılması ve burada saflaştırma teknolojilerinin kullanılmasıyla beraber de aslında bu pilleri teknolojisini de kendimizin geliştirdiği, ham maddesini de kendimizin geliştirip ürettiği bir hale önümüzdeki dönemde getirebileceğiz.

AN INDISPENSABLE ELEMENT:As the Ministry of Industry and Technology, we will support this sector, this industry. Because in this period, electrification, especially electric cars, is a very important and indispensable element. In the coming period, we will see that more players and ASPİLSAN is producing different models of batteries with different capabilities.

THE LARGEST BATTERY MANUFACTURER

ASPİLSAN Enerji was established in 1981. The company operating in the energy, defence industry and aerospace sectors was the first in Europe to mass-produce lithium-ion rechargeable 18650 cylindrical batteries.ASPİLSAN, which also produces aircraft/helicopter battery systems in Türkiye's first and only Ni-Cd chemistry, is Türkiye's largest battery manufacturer.

19 PERCENT OF TURNOVER IS FOR R&D

ASPİLSAN continues to work with 273 personnel. Targeting a turnover of 44.8 million dollars and an export of 13.2 million dollars in 2023, the company allocated 19 per cent of its turnover to R&D in 2002. ASPİLSAN, which has benefited from project-based incentives worth 163 million Turkish liras until today, aims to produce prismatic type, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry, 3.2 V voltage and 100 Ah capacity cells in the coming period.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN OPENED

The foundation of the Li-ion Cylindrical Battery Production facility, which is ASPİLSAN's new investment, was laid in October 2020 in Mimarsinan OSB. The facility became operational in January 2022. Mass production of Turkey's and the region's first lithium-ion battery started at the end of June 2022. The official opening of the facility was held in July 2022 with the Collective Opening Ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Kayseri.

ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO TÜRKİYE

All intellectual and industrial property rights of the lithium-ion batteries that have started to be produced belong to ASPİLSAN Enerji. This means that the rights belong to Türkiye. The batteries produced at the facility can operate at minus 30 degrees Celsius. Batteries with Nickel-rich Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide in their chemistry have the feature of being rechargeable. The cylindrical batteries produced are suitable for using in the defence industry, radios, and any portable system. In addition, Cylindrical batteries find a place for themselves in the civilian sphere. Cylindrical batteries are used in many areas from vacuum cleaners to electric bicycles, from telecommunications to electric vehicles