Verkor Gigafactory to arise in France’s “Battery Valley”

Verkor secures more than 1.3 billion euros in green financing directly allocated to the construction of its EV battery Gigafactory located in Dunkirk. Groupe BPCE is supporting this strategic financing.

With this new transaction, the total amount of financing secured by Verkor for its first Gigafactory and the Verkor Innovation Centre peaks at more than 3 billion euros. Groupe BPCE acted as Senior Mandated Lead Arranger, Green Loan Coordinator and Bpifrance Assurance Export coordinator & agent, via Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, with Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France (CEHDF) and Caisse d’Epargne Rhône Alpes (CERA) contributing as Lenders.

With an initial production capacity of 16 GWh/year, the Gigafactory will be operational in 2025. Verkor will produce low-carbon batteries with one of the smallest environmental footprints in the world. The site will create around 1,200 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs over the next 2 years. Most of the production will be sold to Renault, which is also a shareholder.

The project constitutes a critical milestone in France’s and Europe’s ambitions for clean mobility and presents a strategic dimension for France’s green autonomy and reindustrialization. As such, it has received strong support from the French government and public entities such as the European Investment Bank, Bpifrance and CDC.

The closing ceremony took place at Matignon on Friday 24 May, presided over by Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate for Industry and Energy, in the presence of Mohamed Kallala, Global Head of Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking and Thierry Lloste, member of the Management Board of the Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France.

Credit photo: Matignon.

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