The Swedish company Northvolt is allowed to build a large battery cell factory in Schleswig-Holstein near Heide as planned. The EU Commission approves subsidies worth 900 million euros.
The Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt can build its planned factory in Heide in Schleswig-Holstein. The EU Commission has approved the proposed funding for the billion-dollar project, it announced today. According to the commission, without the subsidy, Northvolt would have chosen a location in the USA.
“This €902 million measure is the first individual aid approved to prevent an investment from moving outside Europe,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The EU wants to produce more strategically important technologies such as batteries and semiconductors itself in order to become more independent from third countries such as China and the USA. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) emphasized: “I am very, very happy that this is happening today.”
3,000 new jobs
The Northvolt company was also pleased: “The EU Commission’s positive aid decision is groundbreaking not only for Northvolt’s settlement project in Heide, but for the European battery cell industry as a whole,” said a company spokesman. “We are now waiting for the municipal decisions as part of the ongoing land use plan process.”
Northvolt wants to produce battery cells for electric cars in the factory in the Dithmarschen district. According to the EU Commission, the plant in Heide will be able to produce batteries for 800,000 to one million electric cars per year. Production is scheduled to start in 2026 and reach full capacity in 2029. The 4.5 billion euro investment is expected to create 3,000 jobs. The company has already invested around 100 million euros of its own funds in the construction project in Heide, according to people close to the project.
Location advantages in Schleswig-Holstein
The federal and state governments are funding the project with around 700 million euros. There are also guarantees for a further 202 million euros. Of the funding, around 564 million euros go to the federal government and up to 137 million euros to the state. The funding is spread over several annual tranches. The federal government released a funding decision in December. It was subject to state aid approval from the EU Commission.
The project will be the largest industrial project in Schleswig-Holstein in decades. Northvolt had always emphasized the locational advantages of the west coast. A lot of wind power is generated there on land and at sea, which the factory needs in large quantities.