Is Tesla Planning to Build a “Gigafactory” in Lower Saxony?

Economy Is Tesla Planning to Build a “Gigafactory” in Lower Saxony?

17.10.2019Author / Editor: ampnet/Sm / Alexander Stark

The electric car manufacturer Tesla has stepped up its interest in Lower Saxony as a location for European battery production. In the past, several cities had already positioned themselves for this investment.

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The electric car manufacturer Tesla has shown interest in a location in Lower Saxony for its European “Gigafactory”. That’s what Lower Saxony's Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann (CDU) told the “Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung” (HAZ) and others on Wednesday (August 22) in Hanover. The US company had approached his office. According to the Minister, Tesla is looking for an adequate location in the European transport network with port connections, a dynamic research landscape and renewable energies nearby.

About a year ago, Tesla announced that it was looking for two locations in Europe for its so-called Gigafactories. A first one is currently commencing production in the USA. These plants are all to build large numbers of batteries for electric cars, not only for the needs of their own, still small range of battery-powered Tesla vehicles. CEO Elon Musk had stated at the time that Germany was the preferred location for one of these factories for battery and car production. This led four German states to volunteer.

Emden as Location for German Battery Factory

Contacts between Lower Saxony and Tesla have existed for some time. Three years ago, the then the state was governed by a coalition of Social Democrats and Greens, which tried to bring the city of Emden into the discussion as a location for a battery factory. Papenburg, Dörpen and the Dutch port of Eemshaven also made an effort at that time, the “Ostfriesen-Zeitung” reported.

According to information from the “HAZ”, Emden and Emsland are at the top of the Tesla list. According to reports, the initial focus will be on pure vehicle production. Althusmann does not want to comment on its size. The parties have agreed to secrecy. Tesla wanted to start small. At the moment, a factory with 1,000 to 2,000 jobs is the most likely scenario.

This article was first published by Automobil Industrie.

Original by Svenja Gelowicz / Translation by Alexander Stark

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