Macron Flags $7.3 Billion in Battery Investments in France

(Bloomberg) -- President Emmanuel Macron announced that French and Asian groups will invest €6.7 billion ($7.3 billion) in plants to produce electric-car batteries and related materials in Northern France, saying the moves vindicate his policies to boost the country’s attractiveness.

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In a speech at the port of Dunkirk on Friday, Macron confirmed that Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium Technology Co. will invest €5.2 billion to build a giant factory in the city. French nuclear group Orano SA and China’s XTC New Energy Materials will also invest €1.5 billion to produce battery components in the area.

“We’re building an industrial policy to be competitive against China and the USA,” Macron said. “If we want to be competitive, we need to work a bit more,” he said.

The French president again defended the government’s recent law that will progressively raise the minimum retirement age, which has led to strikes and sometimes violent protests in recent months. On Thursday, he unveiled measures to spur a reversal of the country’s industrial decline as he seeks to respond to massive US aid for its green sectors and rebuild his political fortunes at home.

The ProLogium and the Orano-XTC projects will create 3,000 and 1,700 direct jobs, respectively, the head of state said Friday.

The Taiwanese company plans to begin building its plant in Dunkirk from the middle of next year, and aims to start mass production of a new generation of cells for electric vehicles in 2027.

Read more: Taiwan’s ProLogium Eyes 2027 for EV Battery Output in France

--With assistance from William Horobin.

(Updates with Macron comments from third paragraph)

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