According to Bloomberg, Germany is pushing Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt AB to build a second large battery factory in the north of the country, as part of the country's continued efforts to attract green investment.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck gave a speech at a business conference held in Bad Saarow on June 3, suggesting that Northvolt build another factory in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern in Germany, in synergy with the factory currently being built in Heide town at a cost of 5 billion euros (a total of 5.4 billion US dollars).
Habeck also mentioned investments from other companies in the country's battery production sector, such as BASF Europe's investment in Schwarzheide and Volkswagen's investment in Zwickau. Habeck added, "Northvolt may expand its investment in Heide to another region in Germany - Mecklenburg Vorpommern in the future."
Habeck pointed out that technology investment in eastern Germany is currently showing a surge.
"Many major investments are underway in eastern Germany. Tesla has plans to expand its battery factory in Brandenburg. Almost all new semiconductor factories are located in the east, forming a cluster effect around companies such as Intel, TSMC, Infineon, and Global Foundries. The network may further expand in the future," Habeck said.
With the support of the newly relaxed EU country aid plan, Northvolt began construction of its Heide factory in March. The project aims to supply batteries for electric vehicles and will receive slightly over 900 million euros in aid and guarantees from Germany. These incentives will help ensure the smooth progress of the project and prevent it from being attracted to the United States. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees this investment as the latest example of the government's efforts to modernize and secure its manufacturing bases.
Northvolt's Heide factory relies on wind power and plans to hire approximately 3000 people, with operations starting in 2026. The annual production capacity of the factory is 60 gigawatt hours (GWH), which will make it the largest battery factory in Germany, capable of supplying power to approximately one million electric vehicles.