Verkor pulls in over €2 billion in fresh capital
French battery manufacturer and Renault partner Verkor has received more than two billion euros in fresh capital. The money will go towards the construction of its battery cell factory in the north of France and research and development activities in Grenoble.
Verkor states that the company has generated at least 850 million euros from investors in its Series C financing round. A further €650 million will come in the form of grants from the French government under the France 2030 plan, following EU state aid approval. This sum also includes subsidies from the Hauts-de-France region and the city of Dunkirk, amounting to 60 and 30 million euros respectively. Verkor is currently building its battery cell factory in the region. In addition, the European Investment Bank is supporting Verkor with a loan package of 600 million euros.
In terms of investors, the funding round was led by Macquarie Asset Management, which invested in the startup through its Energy Transition Solutions Fund. Verkors industrial and financial partners such as Renault Group, EQT Ventures, EIT InnoEnergy and Sibanye-Stillwater also participated in the round. The SPI Investment Fund (Société de projets industriels) increased its investment in this round under the Invest for the Future programme, according to Verkor.
Production at Vektor’s Dunkirk plant is scheduled to start in 2025 with an annual capacity of 16 GWh. By 2030, capacity is to be expanded to 50 GWh. Research and development, as already mentioned, is located in Grenoble. The Verkor Innovation Centre (VIC), which opened its doors at the end of June, is located there. Among other things, the pilot lines for series production from 2025 are to be prepared there.
The main customer for the battery cells will be the Renault Group. The carmaker entered into a strategic partnership with Verkor in 2021, which was converted into a commercial partnership in April 2023. Together, the companies intend to develop and manufacture high-performance batteries for Renault electric cars from the C-segment upwards and for Alpine models. According to the announcement made in the summer, Renault intends to purchase ten GWh from Verkor from 2026 and 20 GWh from 2030.
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