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Verkor raises more than €250 million in additional funding for its Verkor Innovation Center

Located in Grenoble, the Verkor Innovation Center is Verkor’s technological center: it consists of a 15,000 m2 building including an R&D laboratory for the design of high-performance batteries, an intelligent pilot line with a capacity of 150 MWh/ year and a training center to meet the growing need for specialized labor in the battery sector. Construction is already well advanced, with completion scheduled for the first half of 2023. 

For the inauguration of its R&D Lab, an integral part of the Verkor Innovation Center under construction, the company is carrying out a financing round of more than 250 million euros which is made up as follows:  

  • The European Investment Bank grants financing of 49 million euros to Verkor within the framework of the Innovfin mechanism for financing innovation intended, in cooperation with the European Commission , to develop demonstration projects in the field of energy (PDE). Verkor confirms its status as a company committed to building a genuine European industrial battery sector for electric vehicles . 
  • Bpifrance Assurance Export guarantees 51 million euros in bank financing. This financing , currently being finalized, has been the subject of a conditional agreement from the banks Santander Corporate & Investment Banking and Société Générale. This guarantee granted by the French Government, under the Strategic Project Guarantee (GPS), enables the State and the BPI to support the emergence of national champions. Verkor is the first project to benefit from this support granted by the French State to strategic projects. 
  • A convertible bond round of more than 80 million euros with financial partners such as Demeter via the Ecological Transport Modernization Fund (FMET) and the “Industrial Project Companies” (SPI) investment fund, managed by Bpifrance for the State account under the Future Investments Program ; industrial partners such as Plastic Omnium, Sibanye-Stillwater, GROUPE IDEC, Schneider Electric  ; as well as the employees and their entourage who show their support for the Verkor project by bringing together several million euros of personal investment. 
  • The total acquisition of the Siemens site in Grenoble , by co-investing with the IDEC GROUP, for an amount of more than 70 million euros. The objective is to finalize the construction of the Verkor Innovation Center, to establish the company’s headquarters there as well as the “ Battery School”.  
Ribbon cutting_Closing ceremony financing VIC_2/11

Benoit Lemaignan, Chairman of the Management Board of Verkor, declares: “This announcement constitutes an additional concretization of all the efforts made over the past two years to build the future of electric mobility in Europe. I warmly thank our institutional and industrial partners who have made our project a reality. I know we can count on their support for the next stage of our development. I would also like to thank our team, which has once again demonstrated its unfailing commitment to the future of the collective project led by Verkor. »  

Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank , said: ” The European Investment Bank demonstrates its determination to build a better future by supporting European automotive electric battery technologies to respond to the climate emergency as well as to the objective of relocating strategic value chains. After having financed several projects in the sector such as the pioneering gigausine of Northvolt in Sweden and in France those of Douai with Renault and Douvrin with Stellantis, the EIB is very happy to join an ecosystem of public and private partners who work alongside Verkor to achieve these two objectives on French soil . »  

Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty comments: ” The project developed by Verkor will create thousands of jobs locally and strengthen the battery and automotive industry by France. This promising start-up can count on our continued support. »   

Laurence Boone, Secretary of State to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of Europe adds “The European Union confirmed last week the objective of 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035: c is a strong decision to achieve our climate goals. It goes hand in hand with the ambitious industrial policy that we carry out, in Europe and in France, as with this project implemented by Verkor. We are mobilized for the development of French and European capacities for the production of electric vehicles and batteries as well as for the deployment of charging stations, while supporting companies and households in this transition and promoting employment. » 

Doris Birkhofer, President of Siemens France emphasizes  : “Heritage and transmission are deeply rooted values ​​at Siemens. As we celebrate our 175th anniversary this year, we are delighted that a company like Verkor, which shares many things in common with Siemens – innovation and skills at the heart of a cutting-edge, smart and efficient industry – is taking up the torch. ! » . 

Patrice Lafargue, President of the IDEC GROUP adds: “Verkor and its entire board convinced us very early on with their business model and their ability to create and federate a complete ecosystem to produce batteries for electric cars in France. I am impressed by the evolution of this company, which has experienced exceptional growth since we entered its capital two years ago alongside prestigious partners. Within the IDEC GROUP, we are therefore proud to be able to once again support this nugget of French industrial know-how by financially supporting their Verkor Innovation Center project in Grenoble through our subsidiary GROUPE IDEC INVEST. This very technical operation, designed and built by our Engineering subsidiaries represents a tremendous springboard for large-scale industrialization of their activity”.  

Philippe Detours, Managing Partner Demeter , explains  : “Demeter, via the Fonds de Modernization Ecologique des Transports, is playing a pioneering role in investing in infrastructure to decarbonize transport in France. Since 2017, the FMET has been investing in the entire value chain of electric mobility: investment in more than 2,500 terminals throughout France, interoperability of charging networks with the company Girève, reuse of second-life batteries with the Renault Advance Battery Storage program, and production of high-performance batteries through our investment in Verkor, which we are very proud to be able to support. »  

Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, said: ” We are delighted to be part of the ongoing development of Verkor, which supports the future manufacture of low carbon batteries in Europe, which is complementary to our green metals strategy. . » 

This VIC financing program allows Verkor to bring together a complete ecosystem of financial partners (from investment funds to industrial partners, including commercial banks and public banks). With the construction of the VIC almost complete, the Verkor teams are now focusing on obtaining financing to build the first Verkor Gigafactory, with a targeted production of 16 GWh/year, in the port of Dunkirk. This new investment on French soil, whose approval is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, will be for more than 1.5 billion euros and will create around 1,200 direct jobs. It will also contribute significantly to thecombats climate change by bringing low-carbon, high-performance batteries to the market.  

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