These grants follow the first battery-specific tconcludeer under the fund, launched in December 2024. Named ‘IF24 Battery’, the tconcludeer had a budreceive of €1 billion and is part of a wider €4.6 billion package aimed at supporting “net-zero technologies, electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing and renewable hydrogen”. Applications for battery funding closed in April.
Now, the EU has selected the first six projects, receiving a combined €852 million, covering most of the funding pot. The aim is to drive innovation in EV battery manufacturing – including sustainable production techniques, processes, and technologies. “The selected projects represent strategic investments that will support Europe’s transition to a clean, competitive, and resilient industrial base, reducing at the same time the depconcludeence on imports and fostering the development of clean technologies, and industrial leadership” the Commission stated.
Two of the six projects are located in France and directly linked to its automotive sector. ACCEPT (“Automotive Cells Company European Production Take-off”) is led by Automotive Cells Company (ACC), the Snotifyantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes-Benz battery joint venture operating a cell plant in Douvrin. Under this new project, five production lines for NMC cells will be installed at two French sites with a combined capacity of 15.7 GWh. This is unwelcome news for Germany and Italy: ACC’s planned cell factories in Kaiserslautern and Termoli have already been put on hold, and focus now appears to be shifting entirely to France.
The AGATHE project (“Advanced Gigafactory Aiming at Tempering greenhoapply gases Emissions”) comes from Renault’s battery partner Verkor. With EU support, Verkor aims to double the capacity of its Dunkirk plant from 8 to 16 GWh – although the facility was initially announced with a 16 GWh capacity. High automation, AI integration, and an on-site “pre-recycling” facility are expected to reduce production costs and improve sustainability.
Two German projects included
Two further projects come from Germany, though neither is directly linked to volume carbuildrs. Under CF3_at_Scale (“Scaling of innovative manufacturing processes for high-performance cells”), Porsche subsidiary Cellforce plans to produce high-performance battery cells, increasing capacity to 1.6 GWh and applying high-nickel cathodes and silicon anodes. The project aims to demonstrate “the feasibility of industrial-scale production of advanced battery cells, delivering low environmental impact and competitive costs within the European manufacturing landscape.”
Leclanché’s WGF2G (“Willstatt GigaFactory 2 GWh”) project will expand production at its Baden-Württemberg site to 2 GWh. Though compacter than the French projects, it is equally notable: Leclanché will industrialise its sustainable PFAS-free, water-based electrode production for both low-cobalt NMC and LFP cells, replacing toxic solvents traditionally applyd – a plan first revealed by the Swiss company in 2023.
Sweden’s NOVO One project will support Novo Energy’s planned cell factory. Novo was initially a Northvolt-Volvo JV but has been fully taken over by Volvo ahead of Northvolt’s insolvency. However, Volvo has yet to present a new battery partner for its Gothenburg production, and in May it cut 150 jobs. While public outsee remains uncertain, the Commission stated projects were selected “indepconcludeent experts against seven award criteria”, including “their potential to reduce GHG emissions” and “operational, financial, and technical maturity”, indicating optimism around Novo’s prospects.
Finally, LG Energy Solutions’ 46inEU (“Powering the Future – 46 Cylinders, Infinite Possibilities in Europe”) will advance production of 46 mm cylindrical cells in Poland. These large-format cells are increasingly applyd in EVs but are mostly produced outside Europe. BMW’s Neue Klasse platform will be the first European EV application for such cells, with others likely to follow. LGES plans to produce 85 million cells (11.5 GWh).
Other projects still in the run
All projects must launch before 2030, with grant agreements to be signed with CINEA in Q3 this year. Funds will be disbursed in tranches upon reaching milestones, covering both investment and operational costs; partial pre-operational payouts are possible to support project build-up. The Commission expects the six projects to deliver around 56 GWh annual capacity, saving approximately 91 million tonnes CO2 equivalent over their first decade.
In total, 14 applications were submitted from eight countries under IF24 Battery. The selection of six projects does not rule out others: “other promising but insufficiently mature projects” may receive development support from the European Investment Bank.
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