Despite budget problems The federal government has released a good half a billion euros for the location of Northvolt’s battery factory in Heide (Dithmarschen district). The ministry announced on Sunday that a corresponding funding notice had now been sent to the company. “Securing funding for Northvolt is an important step in triggering a large private investment that brings added value and jobs in an industry of the future,” said Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). “And it’s good that we were able to get an exemption from the budget freeze.” Several media outlets had previously reported.
According to the ministry, the project in Schleswig-Holstein will receive funding totaling around 700 million euros. Of this, around 564 million euros are attributable to the federal government and around 136 million euros to the state. The funding is spread over several annual tranches.
According to the information, given the urgency of the final location decision, the Federal Ministry of Economics requested the Federal Ministry of Finance to release the funds despite the current budget block. The Ministry of Economic Affairs also announced that this had been approved.
Not only Northvolt was affected by the Constitutional Court’s climate fund ruling, many other companies are also currently trembling about the state’s billions. Around 60 billion euros are missing from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), which had developed into the most important instrument for financing the energy transition and restructuring the economy. Which companies are worried about a lot of funding? manager magazine researched.
The EU Commission still has to give the green light
Northvolt founder Peter Carlsson (53) can currently breathe a sigh of relief, but the funding decision is still subject to state aid approval from the European Commission. “We are in constructive dialogue with the Commission on this,” said the ministry. In order to implement the project, the two local communities will also need to adopt statutes as part of the land-use plan process, which will probably only be possible once the state aid requirements have been met.
The Swedish company Northvolt wants to produce battery cells for electric cars in a factory in Heide from 2026. The 4.5 billion euro investment is expected to create 3,000 jobs. The company has already invested around 100 million euros of its own funds in the construction project in Heide, according to those close to the project. Previously there was a fierce struggle for government funding, electricity prices – and fresh capital from investors.
Before Carlsson founded the battery cell company Northvolt together with partners in 2016, the Swede was head of production, including battery cells Built for the US electric car company Tesla.
The Swedish company has now become a beacon of hope against the car manufacturers’ impending dependence on Asian corporations. Carlsson revealed to manager magazine
, why the automotive industry still faces tough times in the transformation and what is driving it quickly to the stock market.