Verkor, the Grenoble start-up specializing in batteries for electric cars, is raising 250 million euros for its “Innovation Center” under construction on the Scientific Peninsula. It is the rear base of the future giant factory (GigaFactory) of Dunkirk, which will require raising 1.5 billion euros… This Wednesday, this “innovation center” was inaugurated, and the EIB, the European Investment Bank, provided its support to the tune of of 49 million euros.
Grenoble ecosystem
The Secretary of State in charge of Europe, Laurence Boone, made the trip to Grenoble for the occasion: “The challenge is to create battery and electric vehicle sectors in France and in Europe (…). The Grenoble site makes sense since, as you know, there is a long industrial tradition and of innovation which began in the 1960s with the CEA, and then with the development of Arkema. There is a whole ecosystem of engineers, technicians and sites too, which will make it possible to bring together skills very quickly to be able to accelerate in the production of these vehicles.” And time is running out, because Europe has just announced the end of the production of thermal vehicles by 2035… And Emmanuel Macron promises 2 million electric or hybrid vehicles manufactured in France in 2030.
Pilot production line
A pilot production line will come into service in a few weeks at Verkor’s new Grenoble site, which already houses a laboratory focused on innovation. Around 60 people work in this unit. It is a question of improving the autonomy of the batteries, but also their power and their carbon footprint, summarizes Bruno Delobel, the director of development. “The lithium, the cobalt that we put in a battery in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, we will not have used it, underlines Benoît Lemaignan, co-founder and chairman of the executive board of Verkor. We are truly creating a circular economy. We are centered on the production of cells, but we have discussions, partners. We are working with Renault, for example, on the end of battery life.” _
235 jobs in Isère
Verkor employs 235 people in Isère. The innovation center will serve as a springboard for the creation of the giant factory in Dunkirk, which should employ 1,300 people. “We will start the pilot line in the first quarter of 2023 in Grenoble, assures Benoît Lemaignan, and then we will start construction on the Giga Factory in Dunkirk.” All for marketing by 2025.