French battery start-up Verkor has secured over €1.3 billion ($1.41 billion) in green financing to be allocated for the construction of its first gigafactory in Dunkirk.
It will be operational in 2025 and have an initial production capacity of 16 GWh/year.
Benoit Lemaignan, CEO of Verkor, said: “The participation of 19 leading banks demonstrates the credibility of our project, and enables us to accelerate our drive to become one of Europe’s leading battery manufacturers.”
It is estimated it will create around 1,200 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs over the next two years.
Verkor says it has chosen to bring together a wide range of banking partners to meet the financing needs of its first gigafactory and build a robust financial ecosystem to support the company’s growth.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) brings an investment of €400 million to Verkor. This includes €270 million euros in direct loans under the InvestEU mandate of the European Commission and €130 million of intermediated loans to the commercial banks funding the deal.
Renault is named as a business partner by Verkor and its batteries will equip the future Alpine CCrossover GT from 2025, as well as vehicles in the upper segments of the Renault range.
