Photo: @gigafactory_4/Twitter
On January 26, the European Commission approved funding for the second battery cell alliance, which includes 42 companies from 12 member countries, including Tesla, the German Economy Minister said.
The European Union has provided companies with an opportunity to receive $3.5 billion in government subsidies for battery projects that will support the continent's goal of producing more EVs. "Europe will cement in this way its position as a global hot spot for battery investment," says European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic. "This pan-European project will help revolutionize the battery market," he added.
German companies have played a key role in two financing projects, and will attract investments in the country totaling more than €13 billion, the Ministry of Economy of Germany said. “The approval of the second major European project for battery cell production is a great success and creates the critical mass for the battery ecosystem in Germany and Europe,” said Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier.
Germany and other European countries will support the development of competitive, innovative, and environmentally friendly battery cells, which will generate massive private investment and create up to 10,000 jobs, he said.
At the time being, Tesla is piloting its new battery cell production at Fremont. But the company plans to ultimately move this production to Giga Berlin, where it will continue to scale this new cell production technology. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that 100 GWh of annual cell production is possible for the German battery plant, but that is not the limit. “I can even imagine expanding to 200 to 250 GWh,” he said. “I’m pretty sure that that would make it the largest battery factory in the world.” Such a huge battery factory would create thousands of jobs, and could make Germany the world leader in battery cell manufacturing.
Prime Minister Dietmar Voidke said: “Another traffic light for the Brandenburg battery cell plant is green. This is a great signal for international business in Brandenburg. Another innovative milestone has been set for the Brandenburg economy. Besides the production of electric vehicles and batteries, it can also be used for research and development in Brandenburg. Brandenburg and battery projects--this has a future."
Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach is also pleased with this announcement: “Battery manufacturing can create additional valuable jobs in Brandenburg. BASF Schwarzheide and Microvast Ludwigsfeld have already started the battery projects in advance. These are important building blocks for the future viability of the Brandenburg economy. Thus, Brandenburg is gradually becoming an e-mobility country."
The participating countries include Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia, and Greece. The goal of two large EU battery projects is to catch up with Asian competitors in battery development, and create an e-mobility market in Europe.
© 2021, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
