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Northvolt company building in Sweden: Largest industrial project in Schleswig-Holstein in decades
Photo: Britta Pedersen / dpa
The Swedish company Northvolt wants to build a large battery cell factory for electric cars in Schleswig-Holstein near Heide - and has now received the green light for the planned subsidies, as the Brussels-based authority announced.
"This €902 million measure is the first individual aid approved to prevent an investment from being relocated to a country outside Europe," said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) stressed: "I am very, very pleased that this is happening today."
Northvolt wants to produce battery cells for electric cars in a factory in the district of Dithmarschen from 2026. The 4.5 billion euro investment is expected to create 3000,100 jobs. The company has already invested around <> million euros of its own funds in the construction project in Heide, according to sources close to the project.
The federal and state governments are funding the project with around 700 million euros. In addition, there are guarantees for a further 202 million euros. Of the subsidies, about 564 million euros are allocated to the federal government and up to 137 million euros to the state. The funding is spread over several annual tranches.
In December, the German government approved a funding decision. It was subject to the approval of the EU Commission under state aid law.
The project will be the largest industrial project in Schleswig-Holstein in decades. Northvolt has always emphasized the locational advantages of the West Coast. There, a lot of wind power is generated on land and at sea – which the factory needs in large quantities.
In the meantime, Northvolt boss Peter Carlsson had signalled that construction in Heide could be delayed. He cited the comparatively high electricity prices in Germany and higher subsidies in the USA as reasons. Therefore, the company could initially settle there. According to information from the dpa news agency, Northvolt also considered tackling two construction projects. In addition to Heide, there are locations in the USA and Canada to choose from.
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