The Swedish manufacturer Northvolt has announced its plans to produce battery cells for electric cars in Schleswig-Holstein. The federal and state governments want to subsidize the construction of the factory.
With the promise of subsidies, the federal government and the state of Schleswig-Holstein have paved the way for a billion-euro investment by the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt in Germany.
The funding of the planned battery cell factory in the Holstein district town of Heide is still subject to the approval of the EU Commission under state aid law, according to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the state government and Northvolt. The company makes the final decision dependent on this.
Around 3000 jobs could be created
“Northvolt has made it clear that the investment in Heide is subject to a subsidy that the European Commission approves in compliance with competition law,” said the Federal Ministry of Economics. The final decision on the amount of funding has not yet been made.
According to a report by the Reuters news agency, Northvolt could get around half a billion euros in support. The investments of the Swedish group for the plants in Heide would then amount to around three to five billion euros. According to initial plans, around 3,000 people are to be employed in Heide, around a hundred kilometers north-west of Hamburg. The annual production volume after the factory is ramped up should be 60 gigawatt hours and supply around one million electric vehicles with battery cells.
race for subsidies
“With this commitment from the federal government behind us, Northvolt has decided to take the next steps for the expansion in Heide,” explained Northvolt founder and CEO Peter Carlsson. Previously, doubts had arisen as to whether Northvolt could postpone the already planned construction in Heide in favor of a location in North America.
Northvolt announced the construction of the factory in February 2022. In autumn, however, Carlsson questioned the project again, citing the sharp rise in energy prices in Germany as the main reason.
He also said at the time that Northvolt was considering prioritizing expansion in the US because of lavish subsidies there. He had asked the federal government and the EU for more aid. The background to the struggle for the location was the US subsidy program “Inflation Reduction Act”.
“One of the most important flagship projects”
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck explained: “With the next steps at Northvolt, Germany can look forward to one of the most important lighthouse projects in the energy and transport transition, which will create thousands of green tech jobs.”
According to the ministry, all those involved are aiming to meet the requirements before the end of this year so that construction work can begin. Delivery of battery cells from Heide is scheduled to start in 2026.