National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc wants to revamp its corporate image as a key manufacturer in the growing electric vehicle (EV) industry.
President and chief executive Auttapol Rerkpiboon, together with subsidiaries under PTT, are pushing ahead with EV-related projects, notably those under cooperation with technology companies, as Thailand is determined to become a regional hub of EV production.
The government set time frames to allow Thailand to produce a sizeable number of EVs and launched EV incentive packages to boost demand and supply of the vehicles.
PTT has its own plans to assemble EVs, produce batteries, expand EV charging facilities and provide EV rental services, all of which are making good progress, according to Mr Auttapol.
EV PRODUCTION
The company will begin its EV manufacturing by initially providing a service to assemble EVs for other companies, he said.
PTT's wholly-owned Arun Plus Co co-established Horizon Plus to oversee an EV assembly business.
Arun Plus made a 60% investment in Horizon Plus, a joint venture, with a 40% investment by Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, a multinational electronics manufacturer.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, known globally as Foxconn, is keen to develop an EV business and chose Southeast Asia as its target market.
PTT and Foxconn are jointly developing an EV production facility worth US$1-2 billion in the Eastern Economic Corridor.
With the state's ongoing promotion of the domestic EV industry, Mr Auttapol said he expects many global EV manufacturers to make more investments in Thailand. PTT will initially help them with EV production, rather than spend a huge amount setting up a full-fledged facility to make EVs under a new brand, he said.
Global manufacturers may opt for this offer because the domestic EV market will be small in the beginning stages, said Mr Auttapol.
"Foxconn is keen on EV platform technology development," he said.
"Global car brands can design the cars and hire us to assemble them. EVs require less complicated assembly techniques."
Under the PTT-Foxconn cooperation, a car assembly facility is expected to be located on a 350-rai plot of land.
Production of EVs is scheduled to start in 2024 with a capacity of 50,000 units per year. The number is slated to rise to 150,000 per year by 2030.
PTT is aware some motorists may be reluctant to adopt new car technology, so an EV rental service can be a solution for this group of people.
Arun Plus is operating an EV rental service, offering various brands to drivers who want to try the new automotive technology, but are wary given its high prices and the limited availability of charging infrastructure.
BATTERY BUSINESS
PTT is growing its battery business by partnering with companies specialising in battery manufacturing, as well as conducting R&D to improve battery technology.
Arun Plus formed a joint venture with PTT's power generation arm Global Power Synergy Plc (GPSC) to produce EV batteries using technology from Boston-based 24M Technologies Inc in the US.
PTT announced last year it would scale its battery production capacity to a gigawatt-hour level after opening a factory in Rayong, the first semi-solid battery production facility in Southeast Asia. The facility is operated by GPSC.
The 1.1-billion-baht factory, located in Map Ta Phut, currently has a capacity of 30 megawatt-hours.
The plant is to produce batteries dubbed "G Cells" to serve EVs such as tuk-tuks, buses and motorcycles used for the delivery of goods, according to GPSC.
This capacity will allow the firm to supply batteries to 3,000 tuk-tuks or 150 buses, said Mr Auttapol.
With semi-solid technology, batteries will be lower in weight, require less production cost and should be unlikely to explode, compared with solid batteries, he said.
Thailand is the third country with a semi-solid battery production facility in Asia after China and Japan.
GPSC is a licensee of 24M Technologies Inc, the owner of energy storage systems technology. The semi-solid battery was developed by the US firm.
Arun Plus also teamed up with China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co to develop batteries based on cell-to-pack technology, which can simplify the assembly process and save on the cost of materials.
PTT is developing high-performance lithium-ion battery technology at Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology in Wang Chan in Rayong, which was established by the company.
CHARGING FACILITIES
Mr Auttapol sees a crucial need to develop more EV charging facilities in order to fuel the growth of the domestic EV industry.
In March last year, the National EV Policy Committee announced it wanted EVs to constitute 50% of locally made vehicles by 2030, part of an ambitious plan to make Thailand a regional EV production hub.
In February this year, the cabinet resolved to approve a package of incentives including tax cuts and subsidies to promote EV consumption between 2022 and 2023.
These incentives and subsequent measures are expected to increase the number of EVs on the road.
This prompted PTT, together with manufacturers of cars and EV chargers, to invest in developing and expanding EV charging infrastructure.
PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR), a subsidiary of PTT, announced earlier it plans to increase the number of EV charging outlets to 450, up from 107, by the end of this year. OR aims to increase the number to 7,000 in 2030.
"We are determined to keep developing our EV business," said Mr Auttapol, believing the company's electric mobility venture will grow in tandem with other non-oil businesses pushed by its life science arm, Innobic (Asia), in medical equipment, medicine and plant-based food industries.