Northvolt, a Swedish-based battery technology innovator, is set to establish a gigafactory in Heide, Germany, with support from the German Federal and Schleswig-Holstein State governments.
Following this major investment in Germany, and increasing success stories in other territories like the U.S. with the Inflation Reduction Act, governments around the world are taking powerful actions to deliver on decarbonisation and build the green economy of the future.
The investment will establish the production of key, future-proofed technologies in Germany, such as battery cells. The move will place Germany in contention amongst the increasingly competitive global green technology marketplace.
The German government’s support will unlock a multi-billion Euro private investment and directly create 3000 jobs in Heide, as well as thousands more in the surrounding industry and service sector.
The annual production volume of the factory after ramp-up will be 60 GWh and will supply around one million electric vehicles with high-quality battery cells made in Germany.
Both local communities hosting the planned factory, Lohe-Rickelshof and Norderwöhrden, have taken decisions to enter the next stage of the permitting process, which is an important milestone towards a future start of construction.
All involved parties aim to fulfil the pre-conditions in 2023, so that construction work can start and deliveries of Heide-made battery cells can begin in 2026.
This investment has been made possible by the EU Commission’s Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF). The TCTIF is an important tool used by the EU to provide financial support to companies during times of crisis or when there is a need for a transition to a more sustainable economy.
The new gigafactory marks another significant step towards a historic shift in the global transition to emobility, and, crucially, it was made possible by large-scale government intervention.
