In France rather than elsewhere. The Taiwanese ProLogium will confirm this Friday, May 12 the creation of its gigafactory of electric batteries in Dunkirk. The fourth in the region after those of the startup Verkor, in the same city, of ACC in Douvrin initiated by Stellantis and of Envision in Douai for the Renault group. This new plant is expected to start production of electric batteries in 2026 to reach a capacity of 48 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2027, about the same power as its competitor ACC. The investment was calculated at 5.2 billion euros.
Until April 28, two markets were still in competition to host this colossal project: Europe and the United States. However, despite the subsidies from the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) in industrialization projects, it is clear that Europe and France offer serious advantages to the establishment of these gigafactories, even for major foreign players. .
« The European electricity market is more mature »
If Europe was selected, it is primarily for its penchant for electricity, compared to the American market. ” The European market is more mature confirms Gilles Normand, international development manager at ProLogium. On the Old Continent, 12% of the market share is attributed to electricity. And intentions to purchase electric cars are also twice as high in Europe, at 50%.
Another major aspect: the European Union has enacted the end of heat engines by 2035, i.e. a supranational regulation that does not depend on the fluctuations of the presidency in the country. It thus makes it possible to secure industrial decisions over several years. ProLogium nevertheless specified that this project would only be the beginning of others, just as important, which could see the light of day in the United States in two or three years.
Europe also supports research and development, a major sector at ProLogium, unlike the aid from the American IRA which is only used at the time of production. China, for its part, was not considered for such a project, the Chinese automotive market being already very competitive and developed.
Finally, the ten main European brands have all bet on electric in Europe by 2035 with certain manufacturers, such as Renault, which are ahead of the schedule by offering a 100% electric fleet by 2030. On the French market alone , registrations should be multiplied by ten within 7 years with 13 million electric cars in circulation.
Dunkirk, the choice of labor and energy
France, precisely, was the territory of choice for the Taiwanese industrialist in Europe.
“We had visited several sites, nearly 90 in 13 different countries. In the end, there were 3 possible choices left: the Dunkirk site, one in the Netherlands and one in Germany. The choice was difficult, because all had their share of attractiveness,” detailed Gilles Normand.
Finally, Dunkirk will be chosen, alongside another French gigafactory: Verkor. Energy is the main reason for this decision. France indeed has low-carbon energy at a very competitive cost. In the North, the Gravelines nuclear power plant and the vast wind farms will supply the gigafactories. In addition, car manufacturers are increasingly asking to produce low carbon impact batteries to meet their neutrality ambitions, especially since the ecological bonus now includes this condition.
In addition, France has an unemployment rate twice as high as in Germany, ie a greater availability of labor, for a factory which should generate 3,000 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs. An advantage that finally convinced the Taiwanese entrepreneur for the choice of Dunkirk.
The gigafactory should extend over 130 hectares, divided into two separate sites of 88 hectares and 42 hectares, due to lack of land availability. The objective is to develop a new generation battery compared to other factories in the same region, but also to pool materials, as well as training for the workforce.
Batteries with a range of 1,000 km
ProLogium will normally produce a battery with a solid state electrolyte, unlike current lithium-ion liquid batteries. This technology provides greater robustness in the event of system failure. They will also be more resistant to cold, operating at temperatures of – 40 degrees and will discharge less quickly during temperature variations.
These new technologies will allow, according to the Taiwanese giant, a range of 1,000 kilometers for future electric vehicles as well as a charging time of 12 minutes to go from 20% to 80% of the battery, only a few minutes more than a full tank of gas.« The objective is to convince 100% of users, including a large diesel wheeler “, assured ProLogium. In addition, the company has claimed to produce batteries that are 30% to 50% lighter than their current counterparts and contain 90% of materials that can be recycled.
Still vague in the project
But if these advances are spectacular and could respond to many obstacles to the transition to electric, the price, meanwhile, has not been mentioned. According to ProLogium, the technical cost of these batteries would be equivalent to that of the competition when production reaches 30 GWh. As a reminder, the ACC gigafactory will produce its first batteries at the end of May, the others will follow in 2024, 2025 and 2026 for ProLogium.
These many gigafactories in the North also raise the question of labour. If ProLogium assures that this agglomerate will make it possible to create training structures, it is clear that this establishment will lead to significant flows towards these territories which will have to be able to accommodate these employees. It is estimated that these projects should generate around 10,000 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.
The share of State and regional investments in the ProLogium gigafactory also remains to be clarified, as well as that of Europe, which should be known in the coming months. Currently, 700 million euros have been raised, largely through the participation in the company of Mercedes and VinFast, the Vietnamese manufacturer.
Finally, there remains a vagueness around the manufacturers who will do business with the Taiwanese company. For now, 6 manufacturers are in the signing process according to our information, including several Asian groups in particular. Several rumors also point to advanced discussions between ProLogium and Renault
2023-05-12 04:03:00
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