Schnellecke and GICON®: All-round solutions from a single source for lithium-ion batteries
At the beginning of March, GICON®-Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH and Schnellecke Real Estate signed a cooperation agreement in which a close collaboration around storage and logistics of lithium-ion batteries was agreed.
Automobile manufacturers worldwide are converting their products to zero-emission drives at a rapid pace. As a result, demand for high-performance lithium-ion batteries will increase enormously. Storing these and delivering them just-in-time to production lines is a major challenge because the regulations governing them are extremely strict. Because of their potential danger, they require not only trained personnel but also special hazardous materials storage facilities.
"We have already gained experience with lithium-ion batteries," emphasizes Ludwig Büttenbender, Managing Director of Schnellecke Real Estate, the real estate specialist of the Schnellecke Group. "We manage corresponding warehouses, which we built ourselves, in Glauchau and Wolfsburg." And GICON®-Consult Managing Director Dr.-Ing. Annett Schröter refers to the battery plant currently under construction by the Chinese group CATL in Arndtstadt, Thuringia: "We obtained the essential environmental permits for the construction, and we are developing the safety concepts and coordinating their implementation."
Integrated overall concepts
With immediate effect, the two companies intend to pool their expertise to offer an integrated overall concept for handling lithium-ion batteries for the first time. Schnellecke Real Estate can draw on the entire expertise of Schnellecke's logistics experts as well as its experience in managing logistics centers with more than two million square meters of warehouse space worldwide. GICON® has the experience of more than 500 projects in which planning and approval issues - from the development concept to the urban land use planning to the actual project approval - were taken over for the clients. One focus is on the specialist areas of construction and development planning, immission control, ecology, water protection. Fire protection and safety engineering.
"Together, we can cover the entire portfolio relating to the storage and logistics of lithium-ion batteries, from the initial expert opinion to production delivery," says a delighted Büttenbender, who is convinced of the success of the cooperation. The first project inquiries have already been received - "and more will follow," Schröter is also certain.
About GICON®-Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH
GICON®-Consult is an internationally operating engineering service provider focusing on plant and construction planning as well as environmental and permit planning. GICON®-Consult is part of the GICON®-Group, a group of companies with approx. 400 employees. For the battery cell factory of the Chinese group CATL in Thuringia, which is currently under construction, GICON® was responsible, among other things, for the approval procedure, the fire protection concept, the initial status reports as well as immission forecasts according to TA Luft and TA Lärm.
About Schnellecke Real Estate
Schnellecke Real Estate is the business division of Schnellecke that specializes in the planning, construction and management of logistics real estate. Worldwide, more than two million square meters of warehouse stock are currently managed. A logistics center has just been built for Volkswagen, which includes a hazardous materials warehouse for battery modules. The hall is also managed by Schnellecke Logistics on behalf of Volkswagen.