"We have just signed with XTC and Orano the production of cathode materials for lithium batteries," he said during a trip to Dunkirk. The project amounts to "1.5 billion euros for 1,700 jobs," he said.
Contacted by AFP, the management of Orano said it would communicate on this subject at the time of the Choose France summit, intended to attract foreign projects, whose 6th edition is scheduled for Monday in Versailles.
XTC New Energy Materials specializes in the production of materials for lithium batteries used in particular for electric vehicles.
Emmanuel Macron had met his director-general, Jiang Long, in Guangzhou, during his visit to China last April.
The joint venture between XTC and Orano is presented by the head of state as "complementary" to the Prologium plant, because it will intervene "upstream" of the production of electric batteries.
According to a source close to the file, it will be located at the port of Dunkirk, just like the ProLogium plant - whose investment amounts to 5.2 billion euros by 2030, with 3,000 jobs in the plant and 12,000 indirect jobs for the territory.
"Before the end of the decade, we will have more than 20,000 new jobs in the Dunkirk basin," according to Emmanuel Macron. "We're going to put the package on skills and training, it's the mother of battles."
In addition to Prologium, three other plants are being designed in France, all in Nord and Pas-de-Calais. The first, built by ACC (a joint venture between Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes-Benz), is due to open soon in Douvrin near Lens (Pas-de-Calais).
A plant of the Sino-Japanese group AESC-Envision is to produce batteries for Renault in Douai (Nord) from early 2025, then a third site of the Grenoble start-up Verkor is to start production in Dunkirk from mid-2025, with Renault also as its main customer.
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© 2023 AFP