Berlin In view of the plans for a battery factory on the Tesla plant in Brandenburg, there are warnings of risks to the groundwater. The responsible water association Strausberg-Erkner (WSE) does not consider security to be guaranteed and raises the alarm.
“Our concern is that in the event of accidents, especially in the planned battery factory, contamination of the groundwater cannot be ruled out,” said association chief André Bähler to the Handelsblatt. “The consequences for the protected drinking water would be inconceivable.” Bähler demands that the dangers for the groundwater from the planned battery factory be assessed in an expert opinion.
“In addition, Tesla should give clear assurances of the measures that will be taken to protect the groundwater in the event of incidents,” Bähler said. “If Tesla cannot comprehensibly control the water risks associated with battery production, it would be advisable not to issue approval for this in the first place, after all, we are in the drinking water protection zone.” would then probably produce elsewhere.
The concerns are also the subject of an ongoing online discussion of more than 800 objections to the Tesla settlement. Most of the points of criticism relate to questions of water safety and possible incidents. The discussion is due to close this Thursday.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
In the online consultation process, which only provides for a written exchange, critics doubt Tesla’s concept of dealing with incidents. The company writes that Tesla will meet the requirement for a viable incident concept within the framework of the legal requirements. “Basically, the possible hazards are the release of substances, fire and explosion, although this depends on the substance.”
The final building permit is not yet available
The US electric car manufacturer plans to open its factory in Grünheide this year, which will manufacture batteries as well as the new SUV Model Y. For this, however, the group needs a final building permit, which has not yet been issued. Tesla is currently only working on the factory on the basis of preliminary building permits.
The automaker originally planned to start production this July. However, the company has postponed the planned start date to the end of the year. One reason is that Tesla added the battery factory to its original plans. The construction plans were redisplayed to the public in the summer and objections could be submitted.
The task of water supply is the responsibility of the responsible water association WSE. The factory will be built in a drinking water protection area. “That is why Tesla’s water consumption should not be taken lightly,” said WSE boss Bähler.
This applies above all to the company itself. “Statements like Elon Musk’s, that you are not in a desert in Grünheide, are out of place and do not do justice to the explosive nature of the topic.”
Tesla boss Musk last rejected concerns about possible water bottlenecks during a construction site visit in Grünheide in mid-August. “This region has so much water, take a look around,” Musk told journalists at the time. The information provided by the local water supplier is “completely wrong” and “ridiculous”. And Musk asked, “Does this seem like a desert to you?”
WSE boss: Supply bottlenecks are possible
Tesla has registered a requirement of 1.4 million cubic meters of water per year for the first expansion stage of its Gigafactory. The contract for this was signed in mid-October 2020. At that time, however, the construction of a battery factory on the site had not yet been applied for.
WSE boss Bähler had already made it clear in the spring that with the guaranteed water volume of 1.4 million cubic meters, the reserves on site were exhausted. “It cannot be ruled out that in peak load situations there will be supply bottlenecks for all network users,” said Bähler now to the Handelsblatt. Since Tesla is still planning battery cell production on the site, there could be problems. “If the company needs more than the agreed amount of water, we will not be able to meet this additional demand without expanding our capacities beforehand,” warned Bähler.
At the same time, the WSE boss pointed out that the existing water contract would not allow any further expansion stages for the Tesla plant to be served with fresh water. In addition, there is not enough capacity for the wastewater.
During the online discussion, Tesla countered the objection that future battery cell production would require renegotiation with the WSE. This was “not applicable, since the water requirement can be covered with the already agreed withdrawal amount,” explained the group. The contractually agreed water consumption relates to the production of 500,000 electric vehicles per year and an annual battery cell production of 50 gigawatt hours (GWh).
As a regional water supplier, the WSE uses the local groundwater resources to supply Tesla in the first expansion stage and pumps water from several wells at various locations.
New water resources would have to be developed
But it’s not just about Tesla, emphasized Bähler. “We also need to provide water to new residential areas or business relocations,” he said. “It’s going to be quite a challenge in the years to come when more and more people and businesses come to the region because of Tesla.”
For this reason alone, further water resources would have to be developed. “But that shouldn’t be forced on the municipal water suppliers alone.” He also sees the state of Brandenburg as responsible for promoting the necessary explorations.
This also applies to the possibility of transporting water from other regions or federal states via pipelines to Brandenburg. Such a thing is technically possible, said Bähler. “The problem is that, with German licensing law, it could take 15 to 20 years for such long-distance water pipes to be built.”
Something like this actually has to be taken into account when designating industrial areas. “Then we wouldn’t have to deal with the water problem at Tesla now.”
More: Why Brandenburg is the new industrial shooting star