Tesla Giga Berlin Battery Factory Receives Preliminary Approval from Federal Ministry of Economics

Photo: @gigafactory_4/Twitter

Tesla’s battery plant in Berlin has received preliminary approval from the Federal Ministry of Economics. The manufacturer can now prepare the construction of the world's largest battery manufacturing plant in Brandenburg.

Tesla has received official permission to prepare the construction of a battery plant in Brandenburg, as the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWI) has authorized "preliminary start of measures," a ministry spokeswoman said Thursday, according to RBB24.

BMWI presented the second major European battery cell project to the European Commission on December 10, 2020. Almost 50 companies from twelve European member countries and their projects are part of this project of European interest (IPCEI), including eleven German companies. They hope to get funding from the EU.

BMWI is awaiting government aid approval from the Commission soon, the spokesman said. Once approval is received, Tesla can apply to build a battery factory in Brandenburg. “We are awaiting approval of the state aid by the Commission in the near future,” the federal ministry said.

After filing the application, Tesla and other participants were allowed the so-called "preliminary start of measures without subsidies." This means that Tesla and other companies already have the right to start preparatory work at their own financial risk. Thus, Tesla can begin preparations for the construction of its battery factory without losing the opportunity to receive federal funding. "Tesla and other contributors were allowed to start work on their projects," said Altmaier's representative, "which means companies can start preparatory work for their projects at their own risk."

This "pre-start of events" in the framework of IPCEI funding takes into account only the financial side, and now Tesla can invest and make investments without losing government funding. The aim is to avoid delays in the project construction process, which may arise, inter alia, due to the approval process for the assistance procedure in the European Commission.

It should be noted that this is not a direct permit for the construction of Tesla's battery plant. Tesla has not yet applied for a building in Brandenburg. With the current tentative start of measures, the company can only prepare a battery factory without jeopardizing Brussels' approval.

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter

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