The German Federal government as well as the Schleswig-Holstein State government stand ready to support the establishment of a gigafactory for battery cells in Heide by the Swedish enterprise Northvolt.
With this support, still subject to the state aid approval by the European Commission, the federal government intends to directly stimulate the establishment of key technologies, such as battery cells, in Germany in times of growing global competition. In the Northvolt case, the support will unlock a multi-billion Euro private investment, creating 3000 direct jobs in Heide and thousands more in the surrounding industry and service sector.
The annual production volume after factory ramp-up will be 60 GWh and will supply around one million electric vehicles with high-quality battery cells made in Germany.

In addition to the existing IPCEI project, a funding based on the “Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework” (TCTF) is currently in preparation. The planned state aid needs to be approved by the EU Commission based on the TCTF; the German Federal Government and the EU Commission are in first constructive discussions. In case the EU Commission approves the funding, the TCTF will be used for the first time in Germany.
On 9th and 11th of May, both local communities hosting the planned factory, Lohe-Rickelshof and Norderwöhrden, have taken decisions to enter the next stage of the permitting process, which is an important milestone towards a future start of construction.

Minister Habeck: “With the next steps regarding Northvolt, Germany can look forward to one of the most significant lighthouse projects of the energy and transport transition, which will create thousands of green tech jobs. With the new TCTF, the EU-Commission opened up a clear path towards securing important industrial investments in Europe in key green technologies. We have been in negotiations with Northvolt since almost one year. Our trustful dialogue with the company and all relevant stakeholders has proven successful, and important next steps towards realization of the project therefore can now be taken. We are in the process of setting up the next steps such as the necessary notification process with the European Commission.”

Minister President of Schleswig Holstein Daniel Günther “Northvolt's decision is a strong commitment to the Heide site. The joint efforts of the region, the state and the federal government to attract the company over the past two years have paid off. Everyone involved in Schleswig-Holstein has been committed to the project, and Robert Habeck in particular has given it outstanding support at the federal level. In Schleswig-Holstein, we will show how to turn our raw material of the future, renewables, into value creation and growth, while decarbonizing our economy. It is great that the EU has opened the way for Northvolt to locate here with the TCTF, providing a response to the US IRA within a very short time. This is the first time that this path has been taken in Germany - and I am particularly pleased that the project is located here in Heide. A very important milestone for me was the positive decisions made by the local communities this week. I am very pleased that the citizens' representatives in Lohe-Rickelshof and Norderwöhrden are expressly backing the project.”

Peter Carlsson, Founder & CEO Northvolt: “We’re grateful for all the efforts being made by the Federal Government, the state government of Schleswig-Holstein, the EU-Commission but also made on local level in the district of Dithmarschen. Backed by this commitment of the federal government, Northvolt has decided to take the next steps towards our expansion in Heide.”

Besides the notification procedure with the EU Commission, further important steps locally include the preparational on-site work for construction of the factory and the final building permission. All involved parties aim to fulfil these pre-conditions in 2023 in order to make sure that construction work can start and that deliveries of Heide-made battery cells can begin in 2026.