BERLIN, (Reuters) – Mercedes-Benz has laid the foundation for a new campus of research and development at Untertuerkheim in Germany. This will allow the company to design, research, and start small-series production of batteries by 2023.

Mercedes-Benz will invest a sum of three-digit-million euros in the campus. The lab will be equipped with a battery safety laboratory that will run by 2025 to test and evaluate the environmental, safety, and longevity of lithium-ion batteries.

Ola Kallenius is the new chief executive at luxury car maker. The company’s previous CEO thought it was too expensive to produce battery cells in-house.

The battery is an essential component in electromobility. Kaellenius explained that Mercedes-Benz will be covering all areas of battery technology in this area, including research and development through to production.