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France gets EU's OK to give Taiwan battery maker 1.5 billion euro grant
 

08/04/2023

ProLogium founder and CEO Vincent Yang. CNA file photo June 9, 2023
Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) The European Union (EU) has approved a French measure to provide up to 1.5 billion euro (US$1.64 billion) in state aid to Taiwan-based electric vehicle solid-state battery maker ProLogium Technology Co.

In a statement Thursday, ProLogium said that the state aid package approved by the European Commission, part of the EU's executive branch, will be used in a 5.2 billion euro investment plan in northern France.

In addition to research and development, the investment will also see the construction of a 48 GWh battery factory in Dunkirk, according to ProLogium.

Under the measure, the aid will take the form of a direct grant of up to 1.5 billion euros to cover the research and development project until the end of 2029, the European Commission said in a statement.

ProLogium said it is scheduled to break ground on the factory in the second half of 2024 as its first large-scale solid-state battery manufacturing plant outside Asia, while the company is also seeking a location to set up an R&D center in France and will kick off a recruitment campaign.

Production of the battery factory is set to begin by the end of 2026, according to ProLogium.

The investment project was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in May in the French port city, telling hundreds of people gathered there that the investment is expected to create 3,000 new jobs.

ProLogium said it had been allowed to be involved in the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on batteries since December 2022 and will pursue its collaborations with direct partners in this IPCEI.

ProLogium added involvement in the IPCEI demonstrated ProLogium has been recognized for its innovation and industrialization process at the heart of the European battery ecosystem.

"This grant will serve as a powerful financial backing for ProLogium's Gigafactory project, empowering us to make steady progress in Dunkirk towards our goal: implementing local supply and manufacturing for European OEM customers," ProLogium founder and CEO Vincent Yang (楊思枏) said in the statement.

Echoing Yang, Gilles Normand, president of ProLogium Europe, said in the statement that the company has expected the investment will bring in significant and long-term economic benefits to France.

"ProLogium's investment in the region is substantial, and its impact will be long-lasting. The gigafactory will not only create 3,000 jobs but also establish a comprehensive research and development ecosystem," Normand said.

The company said it has built the world's first 1-2GWh solid-state lithium ceramic battery gigafactory in Taoyuan at a cost of NT$4.2 billion (US$132 million), and production is expected to begin there in the second half of the year.

(By Chang Liang-chih and Frances Huang)

 

Fonte, https://focustaiwan.tw/business/202308040017

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