- The funding will provide battery supply of 9 GWh to power 200 000 electric vehicles produced by Renault each year from 2025.
- It comes under the massive EIB support strategy for the transition to decarbonised industry in Europe.
- This investment, in one of four battery gigafactories planned in the Hauts-de-France region, is guaranteed by the European Commission’s InvestEU programme.
The investment by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the gigafactory to be run by Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) from 2025 comprises two operations: €337.2 million in direct loans to the project, and €112.8 million in indirect loans to participating commercial banks. From a production capacity of 9 GWh in its initial phase — slated to power 200 000 electric vehicles per year — the Douai site’s capacity will later be increased through three planned expansions, reaching between 24 GWh and 30 GWh per year by 2030.
This large-scale project represents a total investment of €1.3 billion for the first phase, with the creation of some 1 200 direct jobs over the next three years, and up to 3 000 jobs by 2030. The batteries produced in Douai in the first phase will equip Renault ECHO (new R5) and 4Ever models. In future phases, the gigafactory will also be able to supply other automotive and industrial manufacturers with electric batteries.