The American electric car manufacturer Tesla can count on government funding in the billions for its planned battery cell factory southeast of Berlin.
According to government sources, the Federal Government and the EU Commission are currently negotiating an amount of around 1.1 billion euros.
The Berlin Tagesspiegel had previously reported on the number.
The Federal Ministry of Economics announced on request that there was still no final number.
Talks with the EU Commission were still ongoing and a decision can be expected in the fourth quarter.
Julia Löhr
Business correspondent in Berlin.
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The background to this is that several EU countries have jointly launched two funding programs to promote the development of battery cell production in Europe.
So far, most of the car manufacturers have sourced the cells for their electric cars from Asia.
The EU Commission approved the funding of the first corporate consortium at the end of 2019. In Germany, the Rüsselsheim-based car manufacturer Opel, among others, is benefiting from this.
The company intends to use taxpayers' money to convert its plant in Kaiserslautern, which was previously geared to internal combustion engines, and to manufacture battery cells there together with the French company Saft.
Last week, Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) awarded a funding decision for 437 million euros.
More than 10,000 jobs are created
Tesla is part of the second European consortium that Brussels approved earlier this year and for which a total of 2.9 billion euros is available. How much money the companies involved ultimately get depends on how much they invest in their projects and how many jobs are to be created or secured in this way.
For Tesla's battery cell production in Grünheide, Brandenburg, the Ministry of Economic Affairs states an investment of around 5 billion euros and 2,000 jobs can be expected.
For comparison: the Ministry estimates investments of 2.2 billion euros and around 2,000 jobs for the Opel factory in Kaiserslautern.
One of the rules of thumb in business development is that up to 30 percent of the investment amount can be paid as a government grant.
Germany has provided around 3 billion euros in funding for both European battery cell consortia.
In Berlin it is calculated that the subsidies in this country will trigger investments of 13 billion euros and create more than 10,000 jobs.
Tesla's schedule falls behind
For the construction of the actual car factory - the foundry, paint shop and body shop are already running trial operations - Tesla can also count on money from another funding program: the one to improve the regional economic structure. Most recently, there was talk of 280 to 300 million euros. The total investment for the car factory is estimated at around 4 billion euros. All in all, as things stand today, Tesla could receive a good 1.4 billion euros from tax revenues.
Even if the exact sums have not yet been determined - why the German taxpayers should financially support a multibillionaire like Tesla boss Elon Musk or an American company has been hotly debated since the beginning of the project. Altmaier defended the support from European funds with the argument of equal treatment. Those who meet the requirements of the funding programs are also entitled to support. In this context, it is emphasized in Berlin that only companies that are also researching new products in this country are funded.
Originally, Tesla wanted to start producing electric cars in Grünheide in July of this year.
The schedule fell behind after hundreds of objections from environmental associations and local residents.
First of all, their concerns had to be examined, then Tesla expanded the building application to include the battery cell factory, which meant that the process had to be restarted.
Tesla is currently building on the basis of preliminary individual approvals and at its own financial risk.
In the first stage of expansion of the plant, 12,000 employees are expected to produce around 500,000 electric cars per year.
In the long term, the factory could create up to 40,000 jobs, provided the State Environment Agency approves it.
Opponents of the factory fear that Tesla could run out of water in the region.
There are also concerns about possible incidents.