The electric vehicle battery company Verkor recently secured a €1.3 billion loan. This amount adds to a previous fundraising of over €2 billion, allowing for the completion of financing for its Giga Factory based in Dunkirk.
Another Step Towards Made in France
The €1.3 billion financing agreement was signed on Friday, May 24th at Matignon, in the presence of the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure. Founded in 2020, the company had raised more than $2 billion in September last year to finance its Giga Factory project in Dunkirk. Sixteen commercial banks and three public banks enabled the French start-up to secure over €1.3 billion in green financing.
The opening of this Giga Factory, scheduled for 2025, will create 1,200 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs in the next two years. Verkor’s goal is to help the French automotive industry reach the production of two million electric vehicles in France by 2030.
A Desire for Reindustrialization
The company’s desire is clear: to reindustrialize in France after many years of outsourcing.
In June 2023, the start-up inaugurated its Verkor Innovation Centre in Grenoble, planning to produce 150 MWh of battery cells per year, intended for the future Alpine C-Crossover GT 100% electric. Verkor’s production site, spanning 500,000 m², is expected to be operational in 2025 with an initial capacity of 16 GWh of lithium-ion cells annually. The company’s co-founder and president stated that this factory aims to become the European leader in low-carbon battery manufacturing, equipping 300,000 electric vehicles.
With this financing agreement, Verkor and its Verkor Innovation Centre have secured a total funding of over €3 billion. The company aims to “work towards the development of low-carbon battery cells designed to support European low-carbon goals.” Its production capacity is expected to reach 50 GWh by 2030. With plans for new installations internationally, Verkor aims to become the most efficient GigaFactory in the world.