2023-05-15 19:31:18
The government has decided to double down on its industrial economic policy. After Choose France the summit held in Versailles on Monday May 15 during which some 13 billion foreign euros were announced, the government must present to the Council of Ministers this Tuesday 16 a bill on green industry.
Among the winners of the sequence, the Hauts-de-France, which appears as a key territory to welcome new establishments or extensions of sites. Proof of this is Emmanuel Macron’s visit, Thursday, May 11, to the Aluminum Dunkirk plant, where he designated the city as a “symbol” of the French industrial awakening.
Multiplying industrial projects
On this occasion, the President of the Republic announced colossal foreign investment projects in the region, the largest among those of the 2023 edition of Choose France. The Taiwanese company ProLogium Technology has announced the establishment of an electric battery factory in the northern city: an envelope of 5.2 billion with 3,000 jobs at stake.
It will cohabit with that of the Chinese XTC, in collaboration with the French company Orano, which will produce the component materials for these batteries. A project worth 1.5 billion euros, or nearly 1,700 jobs.
The choice of Hauts-de-France to set up such projects is no coincidence: the territory is and has always been France’s leading industrial region. Especially in the automotive industry. Gold “the scheduled disappearance of the thermal car by 2035 forces the French sector to review its production system”says David Cousquer, founder of the firm Trendeo.
These two new gigafactories are in addition to three other battery factories currently being designed, all located in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais regions. In Douai, the Chinese company Envision AESC has begun construction of its factory, while in Billy-Berclau, near Lens, Automotive Cells Company (ACC, owned by Saft and Stellantis) will begin construction at the end of the year. Finally, the French Vektor will lay the first stone alongside XTC and Prologium, in Dunkirk.
Training effect
“After the realization of these three projects, we observed a ripple effect: a virtuous circle was set up in the region. Other projects are expanding the ecosystem of the electric automobile industry, to take advantage of the effects of concentration. And we haven’t reached the end! », rejoices Yann Pitollet, Managing Director of Nord France Invest. Billy-Berclau, near Lens. Taken together, the five announced gigafactory projects could together create nearly 12,000 direct jobs in the two departments.
Reindustrialisation, France is catching up
But the reindustrialization of the region will not happen overnight, reminds David Cousquer: “Reindustrializing is a multidimensional question. It is not enough to be attractive; there are also the questions of the price of energy, the availability of land, the transport of products, etc. which could pose a problem. »
“It’s a real challenge”, recognizes for his part Yann Pitollet. But the director of Nord France Invest remains optimistic: « Ces businesses are ramping up. They will only reach maturity in 2030, which leaves a few years to provide answers to energy, labor and infrastructure needs. »
In the spotlight at the moment, Hauts-de-France will not be the only region to benefit from French reindustrialisation. Other major projects were announced at the Choose France summit, such as the creation of a photovoltaic solar panel factory by the European group Inno Energy, in Sarreguemines (Moselle).
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