2023-12-03 14:46:54
Breathe a sigh of relief in Schleswig-Holstein: At the weekend, the Federal Ministry of Economics sent a funding decision of 564 million euros to Northvolt for the construction of a battery factory in Heide, on the west coast of the country. The project suddenly seemed to be on the brink of collapse when the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling on the debt brake in mid-November called into question the financing of countless climate and transformation projects. In this case it seemed particularly bitter because around 100 million euros had already been invested in the preparation of the factory construction and the support from politicians and authorities in the country was also noticeably high.
“Securing funding for Northvolt is an important step in triggering a large private investment that brings added value and jobs in an industry of the future,” explained Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) on Sunday. “And it’s good that we were able to obtain an exemption from the budget freeze.” He agreed on this with Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). The Northvolt project is the first to receive a funding commitment despite the blocking of the Climate and Transformation Fund.
Northvolt wants to create 3,000 jobs
The still young Swedish company Northvolt plans to invest around 4.5 billion euros in a battery factory in Heide, where batteries for cars will be produced in a particularly environmentally and climate-friendly manner. Northvolt wants to create 3,000 jobs in the structurally weak state, whose largest industrial area in Brunsbüttel does not provide many more people with work than this newly planned settlement.
In Schleswig-Holstein, the state parliament made a decision on the state's share of funding of 136 million euros shortly after the constitutional judges' ruling. Together with federal funding, the volume adds up to 700 million euros. Northvolt also has a commitment for a 600 million euro loan via a convertible bond from KfW.
Brussels still has to agree
“The decision creates immediate planning security and enables Northvolt to continue the structural preparatory measures on site,” said a spokesman for the Swedish company, commenting on the decision from Berlin. However, he pointed out that not all hurdles have been overcome – because the subsidies from the state and federal government still have to be approved by the EU Commission.
However, there is probably no great risk that the approval will be refused, because the Northvolt investment fits exactly into the TCTF (Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework) aid framework created in March 2023. Nevertheless, it could still take weeks until all documents are processed in Brussels.
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The two communities affected by the construction, Heide and Lohe-Rickelshof, also still have to pass statutes. Approval statements predominate there, especially since representatives of these communities were able to get an idea of Northvolt and its activities as an investor during a trip to Skellefteå in northern Sweden.
“The funding of Northvolt is associated with the opportunity for good, collectively agreed work in an industry of the future,” is also the belief of Daniel Friedrich, district manager of IG Metall Coast. Schleswig-Holstein's Economics Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen recently emphasized the strategic importance of the funding commitment after a meeting between the state economics ministers and Robert Habeck. It would be “fatal if we later failed to keep what we promised to investors,” said Madsen – because then we could avoid any attempts at settlement in the future.
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