According to a media report, the US electrical engineer Tesla has applied for government aid in Germany for battery cell production and research. The “Handelsblatt” reported citing government circles. The responsible Federal Ministry of Economics only stated that it could not name companies that had applied for the appropriate funds. In general, subsidies could also be granted to non-European companies. According to the report, Tesla did not comment.
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According to the “Handelsblatt”, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is working on pushing a second major European project for battery cell production. 14 EU countries took part, including Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. “More than 55 companies” are involved.
According to the report, on Monday the participants want to prepare the notification of the project to the EU Commission at a meeting in the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Tesla boss appeases after civil protests
Tesla announced the construction of a large electric car factory in Brandenburg in November. The production facility is expected to create thousands of jobs. The planned construction of the factory divides the population in the municipality of Grünheide. Around 200 people had recently demonstrated against the development of the site. With posters saying: “No large factory in the forest” and “Secretly negotiated – environment changed”, the citizens protested against the clearing of the forest.
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That Saturday, Tesla’s boss had tried on Twitter to clear up the allegations. In the application documents under the Federal Immission Control Act, Tesla had stated that 372 cubic meters of water from the public drinking water network are required per hour. Residents now fear a threat to the public drinking water supply. Tesla will not use as much water every day, Musk wrote. “This may be a rare case of peak usage, but nothing that happens every day,” he wrote.
Tesla has now opened a community office to inform residents and give them the opportunity to discuss. The electric car manufacturer plans to build up to 500,000 vehicles a year in the factory, including models 3 and Y. Initially, there should be around 150,000 vehicles a year.
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