Vincent Bolloré’s group is moving forward with its project to democratize electric cars. Its e-mobility subsidiary Blue Solutions plans to build a giant battery factory, which could be located in “a logistics crossroads between France and Germany”a spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday, confirming information from the daily The echoes. The location is not yet confirmed.
This “gigafactory” will produce solid-state batteries. More efficient and lighter than lithium-ion batteries, this new generation of batteries is considered the “grail” of electric vehicles. Because they would allow faster charging, and the opening of electricity to the general public. Blue Solutions plans to present its fourth generation of batteries in 2027. And the mega-factory could see the light of day by 2030, “if the conditions are met,” explains the spokesperson.
Electric cars: Bolloré wants to become a world leader in the construction of solid batteries
Because for this the company must manage to move from the laboratory to the factory, which “is still a challenge”, according to the deputy general director of the Bolloré group, Fabricio Protti, interviewed in 2022 in The echoes. According to the daily, the project would represent an investment of around 2.2 billion euros. The factory would employ 1,500 people by 2030.
The north of France already has four battery factory projects, including that of Automotive Cells Company (ACC) inaugurated in Pas-de-Calais in spring 2023. According to The echoesBlue Solutions signed a co-development partnership with BMW in March 2023, which would explain the planned location.
A journey strewn with failure for Bolloré and electricity
Since 2022, Bolloré has aimed to become a leader in solid-state batteries. But the billionaire’s career in electricity has had some disappointments. The company was weakened after the gradual abandonment of the various car-sharing schemes (Autolib in Paris, BlueLy in Lyon, BlueCub in Bordeaux), by the sale to Total in September 2020, of the London network Source London (1,600 charging points ) and by the termination of the BlueLib contract in October 2020 by the Lille metropolis. As for its electric buses (Bluebus), they stopped circulating in Paris in 2022 after two fires and have just made a comeback.
(With AFP)
