Verkor banks EUR 1.3bn to support French battery Gigafactory project

Energy storage solutions provider Verkor has secured more than EUR 1.3 billion (USD 1.41bn) in green financing to advance the construction of its first Gigafactory in France that will supply batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and stationary storage across Europe.

The planned facility will be located in the coastal city of Dunkirk and will have an initial production capacity of 16 GWh per year. The site is expected to start producing its first low-carbon lithium-ion battery cells in 2025.

The funds were arranged with a bank syndicate of 16 commercial and three public lenders, with the European Investment Bank (EIB) alone providing EUR 400 million.

“The participation of 19 leading banks in demonstrates the credibility of our project, and enables us to accelerate our drive to become one of Europe’s leading battery manufacturers. We are also delighted that this financing takes the form of an unprecedented ‘green loan’,” Verkor’s CEO Benoit Lemaignan noted in the press statement published on Friday.

The latest financing transaction has brought the total amount secured by Verkor for its first Gigafactory and the Verkor Innovation Centre to over EUR 3 billion.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.084)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!