Hundreds Of Millions In Subsidies For German Gigafactory In Jeopardy As Northvolt Files Chapter 11

All that glisters green is not gold…

The electric car market is reeling in Europe…Germany’s electric car ambitions have taken another body blow as Swedish Northvolt declares bankruptcy in USA.

The massively taxpayer-subsidized gigafactory now under construction in Heide is in jeopardy and becoming a huge embarrassment for Germany’s Socialist-Green government. 

Press image Northvolt

Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturer, is facing immense financial difficulties and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. This filing has raised concerns about the future of Northvolt’s battery plant now under construction near Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Construction of the Northvolt Drei battery factory near Heide began in March 2024 and it was planned to begin production in 2026.

In 2023, the German government and the state of Schleswig-Holstein began to provide significant financial support for the project for the Northvolt plant in Heide, which included a direct grant of 700 million euros and a guarantee of 202 million euros. German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, (Green Party), called the battery plant “one of the most significant lighthouse projects of the energy and transport transition, which will create thousands of green tech jobs.”

Habeck, who majored in philosophy and has no education in economics, went on to call the Heide gigafactory project “one of the most important industrial investments in Europe in key green technologies.”

Habeck’s lofty dreams have since turned into a nightmare

But since Northvolt has filed bankruptcy in USA, the cash is gone and it’s increasingly likely German taxpayers will be left to pick up the tab as dreams of a flagship gigafactory in Heide disintegrate.

The billion-euro investment in the plant pushed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck was to be supported by public funds, loans and direct subsidies.  According to Blackout News, “The consequences are now hitting German taxpayers with full force.”

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