Spanish auto manufacturer SEAT S.A. has begun work on the future Test Center Energy (TCE), a new automotive battery lab that will be located at the SEAT plant in Martorell, Spain.
With an investment of more than 7 million euros, the new center will develop and test various energy systems for electric and hybrid vehicles. The test center expected to reach 1.3 MW simultaneously, making TCE one-of-a-kind pioneering electric battery laboratory in Spain.
“SEAT has been committed to the electrification of the company for years and the construction of this unique new Test Center Energy in Spain is a firm step in this direction,” said Werner Tietz, SEAT Vice-president for R&D.
“This new battery lab will enable us to develop the energy systems of future hybrid and electric vehicles, thus contributing to the creation of sustainable electromobility.”
The TCE is aimed at providing the company with its own lab for testing the batteries of the future.
The construction of the facility is expected to be completed in April 2021 and will include different test spaces for the evaluation of cell modules with lithium-ion technology, medium, and high voltage batteries, as well as different chargers used in the entire range of electrified vehicles. The new facility will join the SEAT’s combined low, medium, and high-voltage battery lab built in 2010.
The car company which is currently undergoing transformation and moving towards electrification plans on launching five new electric and plug-in hybrid models in 2020 and 2021 (along with the CUPRA brand), which will be added to the electric version of the commercially available SEAT Mii.
