Italy’s government decided to reallocate European Union
(EU) funding that was initially earmarked for Stellantis’ battery gigafactory in Termoli. The EU fund was around $223 million, which would have gone to Stellantis’ battery joint venture with ACC.
Stellantis and ACC planned to build three battery gigafactories in Europe, specifically France, Germany, and Italy. However, in June, the joint venture announced it would halt work on the gigafactories in Italy and Germany. The halt was caused by the companies’ decision to switch to lower-cost batteries due to slowing demand for electric vehicles.
In August, Italy’s Minister of Industry Adolfo Urso pressured Stellatnis to continue its gigafactory build in Termoli or risk losing funding. Around $2.2 billion in investments were expected to go toward the Termoli gigafactory plant from Stellantis, ACC, and the Italian government.
The Italian government was supposed to contribute $410+ million to the Stellantis and ACC joint venture. Around $200+ million of Italy’s contribution to the Termoli gigafactory was from the EU’s post-Covid recovery funds. Another $200+ million would come from national and regional funds.
Despite recent developments, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares remains hopeful about the gigafactory in Italy.
“As soon as EV sales increase in Europe, as soon as I see that I need more capacity, I will trigger the investment of the two additional plants in Germany and Italy, Tavares said during an event in Turin, Italy, earlier this week.
“We have, of course, to schedule the capacity increase in accordance with the cell’s (demand) ramp up.”
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