French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday announced that Taiwan-based electric vehicle (EV) solid-state battery maker ProLogium Technology Co would build a huge plant in France.
Amid recent market speculation about the investment, Macron confirmed that the Taiwanese company would invest 5.2 billion euros (US$5.7 billion) in a gigafactory in Dunkirk, a port city in northern France, where he made the announcement to hundreds people.
Dunkirk, home to the world’s largest aluminum plant, would welcome ProLogium, Macron said, as he invited the company’s chief executive officer Vincent Yang (楊思?) to the podium and called for a round of applause.
Photo: AP
Macron said that during a meeting with Yang and his colleagues at the Palace of Versailles last year, they gave a presentation of their innovative and state-of-the-art technologies, as the company was considering investing in France.
After one year of negotiations, ProLogium is about to launch its plan for the construction of a huge plant in Dunkirk, which would create about 3,000 jobs, Macron said.
He also introduced ProLogium executive vice president Gilles Normand, and commended the company for its capable battery development team.
Production is scheduled to begin in 2026 at the EV battery plant in Dunkirk, which would be the fourth of its kind in France, media reported.
Citing ProLogium executives, the reports said France beat out Germany and the Netherlands for the ProLogium deal, offering incentives such as tax subsidies and competitive electricity prices.
ProLogium, the world’s only successful commercial manufacturer of solid-state EV batteries, is being wooed by several European countries, as the EU prepares to implement a zero-emissions regulation for all new vehicles, starting in 2035.
Responding to media reports that ProLogium’s investment in France took into consideration current geopolitical risks, the company said the plan was part of its efforts to go global.
“ProLogium is not just a Taiwanese company, but also a global enterprise,” ProLogium said in a statement on Friday.
The company said it has built the world’s first 1 to 2 gigawatt-hour solid-state lithium ceramic battery gigafactory in Taoyuan, costing NT$4.2 billion (US$136.55 million), and production is expected to begin there in the second half of this year.
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