Automotive: near Grenoble, a new factory project to manufacture electric batteries

France is stepping up production of batteries for electric cars, with now three concrete "mega-factory" projects. French manufacturers are preparing their future supply to no longer depend solely on batteries from Asia, with a triple interest: economic, ecological and in terms of employment. Latest project: the plant of the young company Verkor, in which Renault has just invested. For this start-up born last summer, the acceleration has been dazzling in recent days, with a first fundraising of 100 million euros and the arrival of Renault in the capital, up to 20%.

Verkor is a low-carbon battery manufacturing strategy by relying on French partners.

An innovation center will be set up at the end of 2022, before the start of the "giga factory" in 2025, all this near Grenoble.

Enough to guarantee more industrial sovereignty to France, as Benoît Lemaignan, chairman of the board of Verkor explains: "Batteries are the oil of tomorrow", he assures the microphone of Europe 1.

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Many direct jobs will be generated

"It is essential for the European automobile industry and for the energy industry to have its own autonomy in terms of industrial tools, and this is the whole point of the Verkor project", he continues. "This is obviously very different from an agreement between a customer and a supplier, which until then was the nature of the relationship between Asian battery players and European car manufacturers." 

Producing in France means a third less pollution. Ultimately, this will be lower prices and also a future source of jobs in an automotive sector where the announced end of diesel engines is already having serious consequences. The three factory projects, Stellantis in Douvrain, Renault in Douai and Verkor near Grenoble, should each generate 2,000 direct jobs by 2030.