Germany’s leading politicians joined Northvolt executives and employees, as well as representatives for local communities, for the start of construction of the battery gigafactory Northvolt Drei.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Günther, together with Northvolt CEO and Co-Founder Peter Carlsson and Northvolt Drei CEO Christofer Haux, started piling machinery at the industrial site outside the city of Heide, district of Dithmarschen, in Northern Germany.
Scholz comments: “Germany was, is, and will remain a country with a strong manufacturing base. And the production of good cars beyond the combustion engine continues to form the backbone of our industrial sector.”
“For that, we need battery cells made in Germany, made in Europe. It is therefore good news for our entire country that, here in the north, battery cells produced in a climate-friendly way will be manufactured for one million cars a year in the future,” he adds.
The gigafactory will utilize the renewable energy from wind power accessible in the region known to host Germany’s first wind park, delivering on Northvolt’s mission to mass produce the world’s greenest batteries for the automotive, industrial and energy sectors.
The industrial complex is planned to employ roughly 3000 people with a maximum annual production capacity of 60 GWh, commencing first operations in 2026.
Carlsson states: “We are deeply grateful for the support from customers, investors and public stakeholders to create this flagship project for the global climate transition.”
“Heide feels like home to us – and if you’re looking for a mission that’s more than a job, in the region with the highest quality of life in Germany, come join us,” he adds.
As part of Northvolt’s mission to build the world’s greenest batteries in sustainable production settings, the company aims to have a positive impact on local communities.
The company holds monthly hearings with local stakeholders in Dithmarschen and have invited local leaders to Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå, Sweden, to gain learnings from a community that has seen a very strong economic and social development from the gigafactory establishment.
As hiring for the Northvolt Drei gigafactory has already begun, recent polling shows that 80 percent of local community members are positive towards the project.
Haux says: “I am incredibly proud of my team that has shown such passion for this factory, from the first site selection talks two years ago, through all the planning and designing, to this day.
“I also want to thank the people of Dithmarschen. It’s unprecedented for Germany that a large-scale industrial project built on 110 hectares of land enjoys such strong backing from the local population,” he adds.
About Northvolt
Northvolt was established in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Pioneering a sustainable model for battery manufacturing, the company has received over $50 billion in orders from key customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen Group.
The company is currently delivering batteries from its first gigafactory Northvolt Ett, in Skellefteå, Sweden and from its R&D and industrialization campus Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, Sweden, supported by over 6,000 employees in Sweden, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the US and Canada.
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