Asian Tech Press (Dec 10) -- Volvo Cars and Swedish battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt will establish a joint research and development center in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of a £30 billion investment.

The two companies announced plans for a battery joint venture back in June, including a giant factory for production and an R&D center. Volvo Cars said the two companies had signed a binding joint venture agreement. "Our partnership with Northvolt ensures high-quality, sustainably produced batteries for the next generation of all-electric Volvos," CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement.

Volvo expects to confirm the location of a new gigawatt plant in Europe in early 2022, with an annual production capacity of up to 50 gigawatt-hours. Volvo Cars plans to sell 50 percent of its vehicles as all-electric by 2025, converting them to electric cars by 2030.