Build 220 gigafactories in the next 30 years

Coined by Tesla founder Elon Musk, the word “gigafactory” is derived from “giga”, the unit of measurement for billions. Currently, this concept refers to factories that produce lithium batteries, a trend that will grow exponentially for at least the next 30 years.

At present, various plants of this type are being developed throughout the world, such as the Tesla Gigafactory 4 in Germany. The production of this complex will be destined to satisfy the future global demand for electric vehicles.

In Europe alone, there are more than 20 gigafactories and, according to The Öko-Institut, a German research and consulting institution, global demand is expected to reach 220 properties by 2050.

Therefore, Musk wishes that Tesla Gigafactory 4 in Berlin-Brandenburg is the fastest factory in the world. Construction began in July 2020 and began operations in the first months of 2022.

The builders behind Tesla

According to Yamal Chamoun, founder of Escala and considered the father of Project Management in Mexico, a large number of German construction companies are involved in the project. Tesla Gigafactory 4including the signature GOLDBECK.

The latter has been recognized for developing industrial spaces for world famous brands such as BMW, Siemens and the Haribo candy company.

For the Tesla plant, Musk set the pace in 2019, when he publicly announced that he wanted to build Gigafactory 4 in Germany faster than the Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai.

“Meeting this demand requires planning and digital pre-manufacturing. The only possible way to create a production facility of this size, in such a short time, is through the use of standardized components and scalable series production,” Chamoun commented.

In this sense, the specialist explained that a key factor is having prefabricated elements, such as columns, ceilings and walls in series; which need only assembly on site.

Another element behind the fast construction time is designing as if it were going to be a multifunctional building instead of a custom factory.

Companies like GOLDBECK or Escala use an automated and digitized planning process. This involves sharing information using a BIM (Building Information Modeling) model hosted in the cloud.

According to Chamoun, digital technologies can reduce by a third the time needed to build a gigafábrica. For the expert, the future of the automotive industry points towards electromobility, although the challenge now is to build large plants, industrial warehouses and gigafactories that will support the global production of a new generation of electric vehicles.

“The industrial real estate sector has the great challenge of building close to 200 gigafactories in less than 30 years, which means building a new gigafábrica in the world every two months, on average”, he warned.

Will Mexico have its first gigafactory?

In recent weeks there has been speculation about Elon Musk’s visits to Nuevo León. Although it is not yet a fact, it is likely that in the near future the establishment of the first gigafábrica in Mexico.

The international news agency Reuters commented that, if confirmed, Nuevo León would receive an investment of up to 1 billion dollars.

It is worth mentioning that, at the end of the third quarter of 2022, the state received a total of 2,805 million dollars in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), that is, 20.80% more if compared to the preliminary data announced in the same period of 2021, when it was 2,322 million dollars.

This places Nuevo León as the second entity to receive the largest foreign flow with 2.805 million dollars, only below Mexico City, which reported 10.296 million dollars.

“The possible arrival of Tesla in Mexico, in addition to bringing a significant injection of investment, positions Mexican soil as the new hot spot for the industrial real estate sector in Latin America, which implies new challenges and opportunities,” concluded Yamal Chamoun.