The Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt has finally decided to build a factory near Heide. 3,000 jobs are to be created, as well as thousands more at suppliers and service providers.
It is now clear: Northvolt will build a battery factory for electric cars in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein. The company announced that a corresponding contract to carry out the major project had been signed.
“In order to begin construction of the factory, the statutory resolutions of both municipalities and the building permits from the responsible authorities are still missing,” it said. Construction should start soon.
Green electricity for electric car batteries
The Dithmarschen district has the greenest power grid in Germany, said Christofer Haux, Northvolt managing director in Germany, with a view to a lot of wind energy in the region. His company wants to use green electricity to produce sustainable battery cells. These will then be installed in electric cars.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said in Berlin that such investments are important. Because the automotive industry is currently in the middle of a transformation. Because sales of combustion engine models are finite, competitiveness must be secured, including with batteries for electric cars.
State aid from the EU already approved
The EU Commission has already approved Germany’s state aid. In total, there are subsidies amounting to 902 million euros – 700 million of which are grants and 202 million are guarantees. “We have a lack of investment in Germany,” said Habeck. However, such subsidies would become more difficult in the future given the tight budget situation.
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. Northvolt counts BMW, Volkswagen and Scania among its customers.