Northvolt to get government support for German Gigafactory
The German Federal government as well as the Schleswig-Holstein State government stand ready to support the establishment of a future Northvolt gigafactory in Heide.
With this support – which is still subject to the state aid approval by the European Commission – the federal government intends to directly stimulate the establishment of key technologies, battery cells being one of them, in Germany.
In the Northvolt case, the support will unlock a multi-billion Euro private investment, creating 3000 direct jobs in Heide and thousands more in the surrounding industry and service sector, a joint press statement from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action reads.
The planned annual production volume – after a factory ramp-up – will be 60 GWh and will supply around one million EVs with battery cells made in Germany.
“With the next steps regarding Northvolt, Germany can look forward to one of the most significant lighthouse projects of the energy and transport transition, which will create thousands of green tech jobs,” says Minister Habeck in the press release. “We have been in negotiations with Northvolt since almost one year. Our trustful dialogue with the company and all relevant stakeholders has proven successful, and important next steps towards realization of the project therefore can now be taken. We are in the process of setting up the next steps such as the necessary notification process with the European Commission.”
Besides the notification procedure with the EU Commission, further important steps locally include the preparational on-site work for the construction of the factory and the final building permission. The involved parties aim to fulfil these pre-conditions within the current year in order to make sure that construction work can start and that deliveries of Heide-made battery cells can begin in 2026.
“We’re grateful for all the efforts being made by the Federal Government, the state government of Schleswig-Holstein, the EU-Commission but also made on local level in the district of Dithmarschen. Backed by this commitment of the federal government, Northvolt has decided to take the next steps towards our expansion in Heide,” says Peter Carlsson, Founder & CEO Northvolt.
