Tesla had actually planned to make its only European plant in Brandenburg the world’s largest battery factory.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Thousands of jobs were to be created in Tesla battery production in Grünheide near Berlin, but the group is now putting its plans on hold. The US company wants to change its battery strategy to benefit from tax incentives in the US, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The background to this is that the production of batteries and electric vehicles is being heavily promoted in the USA. At the same time, the US government is trying to reduce its dependence on China, among other things, with the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” by only subsidizing electric cars with a maximum tax reduction of $7,500 if they are assembled in the USA. The batteries also have to be manufactured mainly in the USA.
Tesla was initially unable to comment. The company had actually planned to make its only European plant in Brandenburg the world’s largest battery factory. Both cars and batteries were to be manufactured in Grünheide.
The company has been producing electric vehicles there since March. The company set a production target of 500,000 electric cars per year. But production is still under construction. The construction of the battery factory has progressed.
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The Brandenburg Ministry of Economics was not informed in advance about the realignment of the battery factory plans. At the request of the Handelsblatt, the ministry announced that the first information on this was received this Thursday. “It seems possible that Tesla will reprioritize individual process steps in the plants, but that the Grünheide site will remain under construction and with its jobs.”
Brandenburg warns of competitive disadvantages for Europe
The managing director of the business associations Berlin-Brandenburg (UVB), Sven Weickert, made a similar statement. If the battery factory project changes, it will be a company decision. “It would not change the fact that Brandenburg has already become one of the most important electric car locations in Europe,” Weickert told the Handelsblatt.
The company set a production target of 500,000 electric cars per year.
(Photo: dpa)
The value chain is becoming ever denser, more and more manufacturers and suppliers of components are coming to the capital region. “We therefore believe in the potential of this technology for the location,” says Weickert. “We also think that manufacturing as many components of electric cars and batteries as environmentally friendly as possible in the region is a plausible strategy.”
Irrespective of this, the Brandenburg Ministry of Economics is critical of the US government’s e-car offensive. The “Inflation Reduction Act” leads to a “competitive disadvantage in Europe”. “The EU must react here in terms of state aid in order to restore equality.”
Tesla could also have benefited from state subsidies for the planned battery production in Germany. In November last year, however, the group announced that it would not participate in the second major European project for battery cell production (EuBatIn). The company has therefore withdrawn the application for state funding for an “Important Project of Common European Interest” (IPCEI) for the battery factory in Grünheide.
>> Read here: Tesla increases profits with higher prices – Grünheide produces 1000 cars per week
The Federal Ministry of Economics supports large-scale battery cell innovation projects that are implemented as “Important Projects of Common European Interest”. At that time it was about a sum of more than 1.1 billion euros.
The company did not give any reasons for the waiver at the time. However, the group assured that it would continue to stick to its plans for the battery and recycling factory in the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg.
More: German politicians are excited about plans for a Tesla battery factory in Brandenburg