France and Germany have asked the European Commission to approve state subsidies for a cross-border battery cell consortium including carmaker PSA with its German subsidiary Opel and French battery maker Saft, a German official said on Monday.
The two countries have earmarked 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion) to support company alliances to help reduce European carmakers’ dependence on Asian suppliers and protect jobs at risk from the shift away from combustion engines.
The economy ministries of both countries sent a letter of intent to the European Union’s executive body asking it to give a provisional go-ahead, a German economy ministry spokeswoman said, without giving a sum for the planned state funding.
“We’re now waiting for Brussels to give us the green light,” the spokeswoman said, confirming an earlier report by FAZ newspaper.
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier will meet French counterpart Bruno Le Maire in Paris on Thursday to discuss the matter, aiming to make progress with forging further battery alliances.
The FAZ report said that the PSA/Saft alliance was planning to convert an Opel factory in the western city of Kaiserslautern close to the French border into a battery cell production site.
Among the more than 30 companies that applied for state funding at the German Economy Ministry are carmakers Volkswagen and BMW, as well as German battery maker Varta and Swedish battery manufacturing startup Northvolt.
Saft, a 100-year old French company owned by energy company Total, produces a range of batteries for industrial applications.
It has joined forces with German industrial group Siemens, electronic components specialist Manz, Belgian chemicals group Solvay and Belgian material group Umicore to develop a new generation of batteries for electric vehicles.
By Michael Nienaber
Source: Reuters
Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), a specialty material solutions provider, announced it has initiated an information and consultation process with the Works Council of Trinseo Deutschland GmbH regarding the potential closure of its styrene monomer production site in Boehlen, Germany.
H.B. Fuller Company announced that Celeste Mastin, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Jim Owens as H.B. Fuller’s President and Chief Executive Officer, effective December 4, 2022. Upon assuming the role, Mastin will also join the Company’s Board of Directors, replacing Owens, who will be retiring.
New LyondellBasell CEO Peter Vanacker, who joined the company from Neste in May, today named his senior executive team and outlined organizational changes, including creation of a circular and low-carbon solutions business. All changes will be effective 1 October.
