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France launching electric car battery factory to dent Chinese dominance

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1 year ago

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Under a plan of reindustrialisation by President Emmanuel Macron, France is to inaugurate a factory for manufacturing batteries for electric cars Tuesday in Billy-Berclau — the first of its kind — challenging the Chinese dominance in the industry, according to an AFP report.

Battery industry buildup is a component of the plan by Macron with a clutch of factories set to emerge in the north of the country over the next three years.

The “gigafactory” is owned by Automotive Cells Company, a partnership between French energy giant TotalEnergies, Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and US-European automaker Stellantis, which produces a range of brands including Peugeot, Fiat and Chrysler.

The inauguration will be attended by French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and the country’s energy transition and industry ministers along with German and Italian officials.

The heads of Mercedes, Stellantis and TotalEnergies will also be at the event.

The factory is as large as football pitches in which production will commence this summer.

Elected officials and business leaders intend to turn the Hauts-de-France region into “Battery Valley” — the electric car industry’s answer to Silicon Valley.

AESC-Envision — a Sino-Japanese group — is building a plant near the city of Douai which will supply French automaker Renault from early 2025.

French startup Verkor is scheduled to begin production at a facility in Dunkirk from mid-2025 while Taiwan’s ProLogium has also chosen the coastal city for its first European factory, with output to start in 2026.

Competition between US and China

As European Union (EU) has marked a deadline of 2035 to phase out fossil fuel-run cars, the countries are racing to step up the production of batteries and electric vehicles to meet the target of electric vehicles within the deadline.

In recent years, around 50 battery factory projects have been announced in the EU and the French government has set a target of producing two million electric vehicles per year by 2030, as per the economy ministry.

The ministry said that “the ACC plant will supply 500,000 vehicles per year by then.”

China is the world leader in electric car battery production and also dominates the production of the raw materials needed to make them.

Europe also faces stiff competition from the United States, which is heavily subsidising the sector through the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $370 billion in clean energy incentives.

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Business

Irfan Siddiqui meets with the PM and informs him about the Senate performance of the parliamentary party.

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The head of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Standing Committee and the PML-N’s parliamentary leader paid Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif a visit in Islamabad.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui gave the Prime Minister an update on the Parliamentary Party’s Senate performance.

Additionally, Senator Irfan Siddiqui gave the Prime Minister an update on the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs’ performance.

He complimented the Prime Minister on his outstanding efforts to bring Pakistan’s economy back on track and meet its economic objectives.

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Business

SIFC Increases Direct Foreign Investment: Investment in the Energy Sector Rises by 120%

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The Special Investment Facilitation Council is intended to help Pakistan’s energy sector attract $585.6 million in direct foreign investment in 2024–2025. The amount invested at the same time previous year was $266.3 million.

This is a notable 120% rise, mostly due to investments in gas exploration, oil, and power. Such expansion indicates heightened investor confidence and emphasizes the development potential in important areas.

The State Bank reports that foreign investment in other vital industries has increased by 48% to $771 million.

This advancement is a blatant testament to SIFC’s efficient investment procedure and quick project execution.

The purpose of the Special Investment Facilitation Council is to establish Pakistan as an investment hub by aggressively promoting regional trade and investment in the energy sector and other critical industries.

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Business

Discos report losses of Rs239 billion.

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When compared to the same period last year, the data indicates that discos have decreased their losses in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The distribution businesses recorded losses of Rs239 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year, a substantial decrease from the Rs308 billion losses sustained during the same period the previous year.

Additionally, the distribution businesses’ rate of recovery has improved. It has increased to 91% in the first quarter of this year from 84% in the same period last year, indicating success in revenue collection.

Regarding circular debt, the Power division observed a notable change. Last year, between July and October, the circular debt grew by Rs301 billion. Nonetheless, this year’s first four months saw a relatively modest increase in circular debt, totaling about Rs11 billion.

These enhancements show promising developments in the electricity sector’s financial health in Pakistan, where initiatives are being made to accelerate recovery rates and slow the expansion of circular debt.

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