Renault-Backed Verkor Secures More Than €2bn to Launch French Battery Gigafactory

Renault-backed Verkor has secured more than €2 billion in financing following the signing of a minimum of €850m Series C funding, approval of European Investment Bank debt support and subsidies from the French government. This financing will accelerate the construction of Verkor’s first gigafactory, in Dunkirk, France, and the manufacturing of high performance low-carbon battery cells.

Verkor’s gigafactory will have an initial production capacity of 16 GWh/year.

Situated in the Port of Dunkirk, the gigafactory is expected to be operational by 2025, and will create around 1,200 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs.

The funding will also support the ongoing technological developments at the Verkor Innovation Centre (VIC) for new manufacturing technologies and new products in the Grenoble region.

The VIC site brings together headquarters, research and development centre, pilot line and training centre and already employs more than 340 people from 38 different nationalities.

Verkor's funding is the largest equity raise for a French startup.

Benoit Lemaignan, CEO of Verkor, says: “We are very proud to secure more than €2 billion to concretise our ambition. Together we’ll bring to life a high performance gigafactory, accelerating a responsible energy transition and transport decarbonisation This global financing solidifies our long- term perspectives and with the renewed commitment of our existing partners, we are now on track to becoming one of the leading European battery manufacturers.”

Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group, adds: “As a partner from the outset, Renault Group is proud to be associated with the success of this capital increase, alongside leading investors who are convinced of the economic competitiveness and technical quality of Verkor’s high-performance, lowcarbon batteries. Following on from the high-quality work carried out between our two companies, this is a decisive step for the development of an electric ecosystem in France. It will very soon enable the construction of the Verkor gigafactory in Dunkirk whose batteries will equip the future Alpine CCrossover GT from 2025, as well as vehicles in the upper segments of the Renault range.”

In April, 2023, Renault Group and Verkor entered a long-term partnership to supply 12 GWh per year of batteries for EVs.