The group hopes to start production at the end of 2026, and ramp up over several years until it has some 3,000 employees in the factory.

It will invest 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion) in Dunkirk by 2030, and produce batteries for hundreds of thousands of cars there once at full capacity.

The group specialises in the development of “solid-state” batteries which are considered more powerful, safer and quicker to charge than the lithium-ion cells often used in electric vehicles.

“We can charge 80 percent of the battery in 12 minutes… if if we take the Tesla model 3 this 80 percent (will take) 20 minutes,” said Gilles Normand, vice president for international development.

Solid-state batteries are also around 50 kilograms lighter, he added, which makes a big difference to the performance of the car carrying it.

The Taiwanese group decided on Dunkirk because it allows proximity to its customers too, he said, with many electric vehicle factories located in northern Europe.

The plant will also contribute 12,000 indirect jobs in the region, Prologium said.

“Dunkirk is extremely well connected: rail, road, highway; Its a deep sea harbour so easy for us to import and export some of our products,” Normand said.

“It’s fair to say that there is a developing ecosystem for batteries in northern France”.

Another three projects have already been announced in the region, he said, including a project by China’s Envision group at a Renault factory and a plant for French battery start-up Verkor.

ProLogium, which was founded in 2006 and includes Mercedes-Benz among its shareholders, said it is planning an IPO in the future to help finance its investments, as well as looking for European incentives for the green industry.

Last month, the EU’s executive arm published two proposals to push Europe to produce more clean technology including critical raw materials needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles.

(AFP)