Complex installations in battery development facilities

Instalco company Instamate AB has done extensive installations in connection with the construction of two battery development test facilities, which will primarily be used by the vehicle industry. Right from the time construction started in 2022, the facilities were fully leased: proof of the vehicle industry’s significant need for modern batteries to manage the transition to fossil-free transport. 

Instamate’s customer is SEEL Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory, which is running the project on research into and development of electromobility in collaboration with Chalmers and RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden). The goal is to boost knowledge building and collaboration to accelerate the development of electrified transport. 

The facility in Nykvarn outside Södertälje will enable the automotive industry to test prototypes and products in an environment with state-of-the-art equipment.

“This a technology-heavy facility with extremely high requirements in terms of electricity, cooling and ventilation – projects that are an excellent fit for Instamate. For this facility, we’re carrying out both property and process installations. The aim of the project is timely: battery development for the future,” says Daniel Eriksson, CEO of Instamate. 

Cooling water and ventilation
“We carried out most of the installations on this floor,” he explains, showing us around. “We’ve extended the pipe system from the pump level down to the machinery on the floor below, and each machine is provided with cooling water and ventilation. If a fire breaks out in the chambers, it must be easy to evacuate the smoke and gases. This is why we’ve built such a robust ventilation system.” 

The companies leasing space at SEEL’s facility will be offered a shared platform on which to meet and benefit from the knowledge being developed and the technology shift under way within battery storage. Researchers from colleges, universities and research institutes will have access to advanced research infrastructure within electromobility in order to test batteries and electric motors for heavy transport applications. 

SEEL is working with companies from Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, Poland and Germany on the IPCEI Batteries project, an Important Project 
of Common European Interest.

Four times the size 
“Our end customer SEEL will lease out capacity in the facility to interested parties. One of the companies that has already signed up here in Nykvarn is Scania. Other vehicle suppliers including Volvo are coming on board in Gothen­burg, the second facility we’ve built, which is around four times the size of this one.” 

The high output of the batteries that will be tested here means significant cooling requirements. 

“This is why the entire facility has been robustly dimensioned, in terms of both cooling and electricity.” 

Daniel Eriksson makes the point that construction of this facility and the one in Gothenburg showcases Instamate as a highly competent partner in complex projects of this type. 

“The biggest challenge is that the machinery to be installed here has arrived in sequence, which required a clear installation plan to ensure the work flowed efficiently. I think we’ve done a good job.”