French company Verkor to use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to catalyze end-to-end product and process development with digital twin technology – meet Dassault’s high-tech industry VP, Stéphane Sireau.
As batteries replace fuel tanks in vehicles, it comes as no surprise that tough, competitive battles are taking place in both the automotive and battery arenas. European car manufacturers are on their way to fully electrifying their vehicles and there are many players on the market that wants a piece of the pie. This includes automation solution developers working with PLM and gigafactories—so named because their capacity is measured in gigawatt-hours.

This has repercussions for automotive and battery manufacturers when it comes to rearranging their manufacturing processes and adapting PLM support in the product development work. Currently, there are roughly 40 big battery projects of note in Europe’s gigafactory boom. This includes companies such as Tesla, Volkswagen, battery manufacturer Northvolt, and many others that are in full swing to build up their battery development and manufacturing resources.
Generally, it is the dependence on Asian battery manufacturers such as CATL, Samsung SDI and others that has been a driving force. But there are also things like technological innovation, financial and environmental factors that are important. In the latter case, for example, the European Commission has proposed a 100 percent reduction in carbon emissions from new cars by 2035, which effectively means no more internal combustion engine vehicles and a potential surge in battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
For the PLM and automation suppliers the growing demand has been intensive around digital support. This is partly to develop battery solutions, and partly to produce what is needed for rational manufacturing automation of the developed solutions in gigafactories.
These sites are not cheap industrial adventures. In a 60 GWh version, we’re talking about investments in the realm of $4 to $6 billion, of which PLM software stands for around $2 to $3 million or more, while automation stands for around ten times this amount.
In this, Siemens Digital Industries has been successful on the European battery market and has taken a dominant position in PLM combined with automation. Its main competitor, Dassault Systèmes, has also been successful in this space and has invested heavily in developing vehicle battery PLM solutions.
In today’s article, I discuss Dassault Systèmes’ battery-related PLM solutions and the recently announced deal with French company Verkor, a European pioneer in electric vehicles and stationary batteries, with Stéphane Sireau, VP of High-Tech Industry at Dassault Systèmes.
Verkor is Using Digital Twins Solutions
Verkor has new ideas around accelerating the development of next-generation lithium-ion batteries and building the gigafactory that will produce them, all based on Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE platform and specific battery solutions.

“At Dassault Systèmes we have over the past years been strongly investing in supporting battery innovation, leveraging the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and our deep understanding in the automotive and high-tech industries,” Sireau says. Dassault’s customers are, “empowered by our solutions, allowing them to develop digital twin experiences to accelerate innovation in the development and production of sustainable and high-performance battery cells. More specifically, our battery sector solutions empower battery innovation, from their chemistry definition to the design and engineering of the most advanced gigafactory. A good example of this is the recent partnership announcement with Verkor.”
Moreover, Dassault Systèmes has other big automotive players on their customer list, including Tesla, whose new gigafactory for both battery and electric car manufacturing in Berlin, Germany, is one of the largest planned and built European facilities to date, with a production capacity aimed at 200 GWh.
Renault Group is Involved in Verkor’s New Gigafactory Project
As stated above, it was only a few weeks ago that Dassault announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Verkor. The ideas laid out in this document are meant to help accelerate the development of next-generation lithium-ion batteries and build the gigafactory that will produce them.
Verkor is co-led by the Renault Group and EQT Ventures, and from its inception to mid-2021 has succeeded in procuring €100 million ($103 million) of funding, which will be employed to finance a state-of-the-art research and development facility and pilot line for the development of high-performance, sustainable battery cells and intelligent manufacturing.
Verkor is aiming to implement this by achieving a manufacturing capacity of 16 GWh in their sustainable battery cells by 2024, which they are seeking to scale up to more than 50 GWh by 2030.
In terms of gigafactory scale for production levels of 60 GWh, the investments in PLM related software, according to my research, generally land around $2 to 3 million or more, as mentioned above. Multiply this by the size of the 40 ongoing projects, and this European market should be worth around $150-200 million in PLM software only, while the automation side represents investments ten times larger.
On its own merits, this is a large market in financial terms—which means that there are good reasons for Dassault Systèmes to invest as it has in developing related PLM and sub-PLM solutions for battery and gigafactory design.
Two Overarching PLM Angles in Dassault’s Battery Arsenal
So, what can Dassault offer when it comes to battery design software? Quite a lot, as it happens, since Dassault has been increasingly investing in software support for battery development over the last couple of years.
This is not a bad idea, considering Dassault’s strong position in the automotive sector, particularly on the CAD side with CATIA. This classic design solution provides battery libraries to efficiently use 1D simulation for cells, modules and packs.
In its system-level representation, the ageing, thermal and electrical behaviors of each cell can be combined to understand how an entire module of cells behaves. Add to this coupled simulation solutions on the CAE platform SIMULIA, along with Dassault’s BIOVIA software for chemistry modeling capabilities to optimize battery materials design for safety, performance, ageing and cost management, and a picture of a full-blown support system for battery design is at hand.
From an overall perspective, Stéphane Sireau says, “From a manufacturing standpoint, our ‘High-Tech Smart Factory’ solution addresses process definition from manufacturing engineering to execution, including factory infrastructure engineering and commissioning. Thus, Dassault Systèmes solutions facilitate connecting Product to Process, and Process to Gigafactory.”
A Project That Can Land Safely
Together, Verkor and Dassault aim to contribute to the European battery ecosystem that supports the continent’s efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
This market is an extremely hot spot to enter, with more than 40 gigafactories planned or ready by 2026, producing around 800 GWh, according to the European Union’s Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI).

The production volume of Li-ion cells in Europe accounted for around 35 GWh in 2020, or about 15 percent of global production capacities. As a result of ambitious development and expansion plans of the battery industry, the share of cells produced in Europe in global production volume is expected to increase to “28 up to 43 percent by 2030, when it will be around 600 to 870 GWh per year,” according to IPCEI.
In this ecosystem—as it looks today—Tesla is the leading player with its German Brandenburg gigafactory, followed by Northvolt, with five ready, or soon to be ready, gigafactories in Europe. And, as stated above, just under 40 other planned or ready sites, able to produce around 800 GWh’s by 2026.
Furthermore, Northvolt has invested in PLM and automation software from Dassault’s competitor, Siemens Digital Industries. The latter currently claims a leading position in the European field with other customers including Inobat, Italvolt and Morrow.
But the need for European battery development and manufacturing capacity is large. This means that the project can land safely for both Dassault, as a software supplier, and Verkor as a solution developer, despite tough competition.
New Types of Battery Technology
According to the signed agreement between Dassault and Verkor, the aim is to establish best practices to, “improve innovation and efficiency, and mitigate technical risks throughout the product lifecycle.”
In this, it is expected that Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and their transformative knowledge in high technology, transport and mobility as well as the energy and materials industry, will be decisive. How?
According to the press material 3DEXPERIENCE and Dassault’s level of competence in advanced technology will be catalysts for establishing new methods and ways of renewing sustainability in areas such as product, process and flow simulation, as well as supplier collaboration and total quality management.
“We provide a solution to support the development of batteries as well as the new types and technologies of batteries. This solution allows us to optimize the engineering from molecules to the entire system in designing safer, long-lasting and fast-charging batteries,” said Sireau, pointing at the ‘High Performance Battery’ package. “It supports and accelerates each step of the battery engineering process for companies willing to go beyond their traditional boundaries and design batteries suited for the best customer experiences.”
Broad Capabilities with Combinations of 3DX Apps
Sireau added that with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, combining SIMULIA, BIOVIA, CATIA and DELMIA capabilities, battery engineers can perform:
- Material development with virtual screening.
- Cell formulation and recipe development with compliance requirements.
- Behavior Analysis (thermal, electrical, ageing).
- Structural and Performance validation through cell, module and pack simulations (mechanical abuse testing).
- Team-driven validation and analysis through the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
- Define a battery pack disassembly process and assess its environmental footprint, while driving battery end-of-life strategy for companies willing to operate on second life, remanufacturing or repurposing.

Verkor’s first gigafactory will produce low-carbon battery cells designed to support Europe’s net-zero goals. At the same time, the aim will also be to “create a European battery value chain of actors and solutions.”
As part of its roadmap, Verkor will work with Dassault’s industry-specific package solutions “High Performance Battery” and “High-Tech Smart Factory” which are both based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for seamless collaboration, mod learning and simulation in a virtual environment.
“Batteries are a cornerstone of a more sustainable Europe. Our 3DEXPERIENCE platform and our battery sector solutions enable battery innovation, from their chemistry definition to the design and construction of the most advanced gigafactory,” says Sireau.
“As Verkor leads the way in this sector with its ambitious gigafactory project, we can help them leverage virtual twin experiences to accelerate innovation in the development and production of sustainable and high-performance battery cells.”
Verkor’s First Giga Factory to be Built in Dunkirk, France
Verkor’s Christober Raj, head of digital, added in a comment that that they will benefit from the long-term support promised by Dassault Systèmes. Ultimately, these plans are based on 3DEXPERIENCE and aim to reach “unprecedented levels of digitization” when the first gigafactory is built in Dunkirk, France.
In this, Verkor will use the Dassault 3DEXPERIENCE platform and apps to produce the digital twins of its batteries and manufacturing processes, including the gigafactory operation.
“Our collaboration with Dassault Systèmes will enable us to address the entire product lifecycle process with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform,” commented Raj in a press release.