2023-05-12 09:09:00
The president went to Dunkirk to announce the future gigafactory of the Taiwanese Prologium. There are now four factory projects in France.
Pair Olivier Ubertalli
© LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL / AFP
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Un check for 5.2 billion. 3,000 jobs. These figures have become for Emmanuel Macron the symbol of the “reindustrialization” of France. The President of the Republic traveled to Dunkirk (North) on May 12, 2023. He announced alongside the leaders of the Taiwanese manufacturer Prologium the installation of an electric battery factory. The Grenoble company Verkor also chose Dunkirk. The neighboring towns of Douai (North), where the Chinese AESC-Envision is to open its gigafactory, and Douvrin Billy-Berclau (Pas-de-Calais), site chosen by ACC, complete what should eventually become the French valley of the electric battery, or Silicon e-valley.
To reduce the supply of Chinese batteries, which equip around 80% of electric vehicles today, the European Union and France have gone into overdrive. The needs are immense. The European Commission expects between 33 and 40 million electric vehicles in circulation in the European Union by 2030. From 2035, 100% of new cars sold in Europe will be electric. In France, sales of battery-powered vehicles are already around 15% of the French market. At the last Paris Motor Show last fall, the French manufacturers Renault and Stellantis promised to produce 2 million electric vehicles by 2030. Four major industrial projects must transform France into a major producer of electric batteries and raise it to third place in Europe, behind Germany and pioneering Norway with Northvolt. Overview in figures from the most gigantic factory to the most Frenchy.
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The latest project to date, it is also the most ambitious. A total investment of 5.2 billion euros has been announced on 180 hectares of port land in Dunkirk, for 3,000 jobs. Prologium is working on a battery with a solid rather than a liquid electrolyte, the advantage of which is less weight and greater autonomy. The plant should produce 48 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2030. Objective: to equip between 500,000 and 750,000 cars per year.
- The most operational: ACC gigafactory in Douvrin
It’s almost finished. The ACC group’s mega-battery factory, founded by Stellantis (Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, etc.), TotalEnergies and Mercedes, will be inaugurated on May 30 in Douvrin (Pas-de-Calais). The project represents an investment of more than 4 billion euros, of which 1 billion has already been committed. The first batteries should leave the assembly lines in the summer. The plant should have 1,000 employees in 2025. The first production unit has a capacity of 13.4 GWh, or more than 100,000 cars per year.
- The most French: Verkor in Dunkirk
The Grenoble-based company Verkor is building a plant like Proligium in Dunkirk for an investment of 2.5 billion euros and 800 direct jobs during the first stage. Production will start in 2025, with an initial capacity of 16 gigawatt hours (GWh) and then 50 GWh in 2030. Renault has reserved most of Verkor’s production, and plans to equip 130,000 to 200,000 electric vehicles each year.
- The most integrated: the Chinese gigafactory of AESC-Envision in Douai (North)
The French manufacturer Renaut has made space on its historic Douai site, which belongs to its Electricituy division, to accommodate a gigafactory of AESC, a subsidiary of the Chinese group Envision. The project was formalized in June 2021 in the presence of Emmanuel Macron. It must manufacture batteries for Renault from 2025. The announced production is 9GWh per year to reach 30GWh per year by 2029.
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