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☆ First funding tranche for Verkor battery gigafactory near complete- co-founder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Gilles Guillaume | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Verkor should complete the first tranche of fundraising for its future battery gigafactory in Dunkirk, France, in the coming weeks, co-founder and chief customer officer Philippe Chain told Reuters. The Grenoble-based startup's gigafactory is one of four electric vehicle battery factories planned in northern France. Verkor has already raised around 350 million euros, mainly for a new innovation centre, a pilot production line already in operation and a "battery school" to train future employees. Construction of the gigafactory has begun and it will have an initial annual production capacity of 16 gigawatt hours (GWh) - including 12 for Renault (RENA.PA), which owns more than 20% of Verkor. Taiwan's ProLogium also plans a gigafactory in Dunkirk with a capacity of 30 GWh in 2030.

Persons: Philippe Chain, Verkor, Taiwan's ProLogium, Nick Carey, Gilles Guillaume, David Evans Organizations: European Union, Renault, Automotive Cells Company, ACC, Mercedes, TotalEnergies, Thomson Locations: Dunkirk, France, Munich, Grenoble

"We'll make your life easier and help you set up shop here," he told ProLogium's Chief Executive Vincent Yang. It is one of four such gigafactories Macron hopes will transform the poor, former coal mining area near Belgium into a hub for the EV battery industry, creating jobs and helping to put France at the forefront of Europe's energy transition. "Results don't just fall from the sky," Macron told Reuters in Dunkirk. At the moment, however, France lags well behind Germany when it comes to attracting battery makers. Still, the IRA almost threw ProLogium's investment in France off course, one French presidential adviser told Reuters.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Vincent Yang, Ludovic Marin, Taiwan's ProLogium, Macron, Yang, ProLogium, we've, it's, ACC's, Heiner Heimes, Stellantis, Mercedes, Ola Kaellenius, Marc Mortureux, We're, GUY, Xavier Bertrand, ProLogium's Yang, Fabien Roussel, Leigh Thomas, Michel Rose, Silvia Aloisi, David Clarke Organizations: Business, EV, Macron, ACC, Mercedes, Reuters, RWTH Aachen University, Automotive Cells Company, Franco, Benz Group, EU, PFA French, U.S . IRA, French Communist Party, Thomson Locations: of Versailles, Paris, France, Versailles, Dunkirk, Germany, Netherlands, Taiwan, Belgium, EUROPE, Korean, United States, Europe, French, Hungary, Italy, Brussels, Washington

☆ Factbox: Companies invest in EV battery factories in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Below are recent investments announced by companies:GERMANYSweden's Northvolt said on May 13 it will invest 3-5 billion euros ($3.3-5.5 billion) in an EV battery plant in Heide in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein as long as subsidies are approved. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to build six battery factories in Europe totalling 240 gigawatt (GWh) of capacity by 2030. Production at its first battery plant, "SalzGiga", in Salzgitter in the Lower Saxony region will start in 2025. Slovakian battery manufacturer InoBat said last October it had signed a declaration of intent with the Spanish government to set up an EV battery factory in central Spain's city Valladolid, expected to cost 3 billion euros. POLANDLG Chem EV battery in Wroclaw started production in the second half of 2017, with a capacity of 100,000 batteries per year.

Persons: Helena Soderpalm, GERMANY Sweden's Northvolt, China's CATL, Germany's, Mercedes Benz, Elon Musk, Berclau, Taiwan's ProLogium, Jean, Luc Monfort, Mata, BASQUEVOLT, InoBat, China's BYD, AEHRA, Poland's, Alessandro Parodi, Tiago Brandao, Matteo Allievi, Barbara Lewis, Milla Nissi Organizations: REUTERS, Volkswagen, EV, Germany's BASF, Automotive Cells Company, ACC, Stellantis, Tesla, FRANCE Joint, France, Renault, Basque Country, Spanish, India's Tata Group, ITALY Joint, POLAND LG, European Commission, SWEDEN Northvolt's Skelleftea, Thomson Locations: Vasteras, Sweden, Europe, Asia, United States, GERMANY, Heide, Schleswig, Holstein, Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, China, Erfurt, Thuringia, Schwarzheide, Brandenburg ., Ludwigsfelde, Berlin, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland, Palatinate, Gigafactory, FRANCE, Billy, France, Dunkirk, Douai, Ruitz, Ergué, Quimper, Montreal, SPAIN Spain, Europe's, Germany, Navalmoral de, Extremadura, Sagunto, Valencia, Spain, Basque, Slovakian, Spain's, Valladolid, Britain, ITALY, Termoli, POLAND, Wroclaw, HUNGARY

☆ France inaugurates first of four gigafactories in the north
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire visits the gigafactory of Automotive Cells Company (ACC), a joint venture of Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes, during its inauguration in Billy-Berclau-Douvrin, northern France, May 30, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/PoolBILLY-BERCLAU, France, May 30 (Reuters) - France will inaugurate on Tuesday a battery-making gigafactory, the first of four such plants European and Asian companies plan to build in the north of the country. It highlights the race between European governments to attract global car makers as they seek to bring the supply of components for electric vehicles closer to their main markets. French President Emmanuel Macron, who personally lobbied to secure at least one the gigafactories in the Dunkirk region, has set a production target of 2 million electric vehicles made in France by 2030. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)Reporting by Gilles Guillaume, writing by Silvia Aloisi; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Here's the latest:ELECTRIC VEHICLE FRICTIONBiden's domestic policy is embodied in working to electrify roadways across the United States. Getting more electric vehicles on the roads is central to his climate change agenda, ensuring the vehicles are "Made in America" is part of his commitment to restore manufacturing jobs. But the IRA's consumer tax credits are tightly linked to the cars' and batteries being made in the U.S., roiling allies in Europe and Asia whose companies sell into U.S. markets. Instead, Japanese and U.S. officials struck a trade deal on electric vehicle battery minerals that expands eligibility for the $7,500 per vehicle EV tax credits in the IRA. NEW RACE FOR SUBSIDIESThe promise of corporate tax credits has renewed interest in investing in the U.S., and Europe has responded with subsidies of their own.

Both plants will start production in 2026, employ thousands of people and supply batteries to European car makers. With Taiwan a focal point in tensions between Washington and Beijing, the company also wanted to secure a base overseas. Volkswagen was expected to announce a battery plant location in Europe late last year but said in March it is awaiting more clarity from Europe on subsidies before making a decision. The plant by Taiwan's ProLogium would be its first overseas car battery factory. A second plant could also be constructed in parallel elsewhere, a Northvolt spokesperson said, including in North America.

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