Verkor opens its Dunkirk gigafactory

2025-12-15 · Publisher : Verkor · Domain : Industry 4.0 & 5.0

On 15 December 2025, Verkor opens its 16 GWh battery cell plant in Dunkirk, built in two years. Renault is the first customer: the first cells will power the Alpine A390 in 2026.

### Background On 15 December 2025, Grenoble-based start-up **Verkor** opens its battery cell gigafactory in **Dunkirk**. Construction took two years, from November 2023 to December 2025. ### Key facts - Initial capacity: **16 GWh a year** from 2026; target of **50 GWh** by 2030. - Funding: more than **€3bn** raised since 2020, including €2bn in September 2023, notably from Macquarie, Meridiam, Renault, EQT Ventures, EIT InnoEnergy, the EIB, Bpifrance, the French state (France 2030) and local authorities. - Jobs: about **1,200 direct** and 3,000 indirect. - First customer: **Renault Group**, with cells for the **Alpine A390** from 2026; Renault targets 10 GWh of supply in 2026 and 20 GWh in 2030. - Emmanuel Macron sees proof that "reindustrialisation, innovation, and decarbonization can move forward together". ### Why it matters While Northvolt went bankrupt and ACC froze two of its three projects, Verkor keeps the targets it set in 2023 and becomes one of the few independent European gigafactories to start up. Northern France confirms its role as a "battery valley", with an automotive customer anchored from day one. ### Takeaway A French gigafactory on schedule, backed by Renault: a counterexample to Europe's battery setbacks.

Tags : Batteries, Usine, France, Europe, Automobile