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The
targeted capacity of 12 gigawatt hours (GWh), enough to power
more than 100,000 vehicles, would make Renault the biggest
client of Verkor's planned "gigafactory" in Dunkirk, which is
aiming for a total capacity for batteries equivalent to 16 GWh.
The move is part of Renault's efforts to secure crucial
components and seize control of the value chain of its future
unit Ampere, dedicated to electric vehicles and software which
it plans to list on the stock market by the end of the year.
Renault shares traded around 1.3% higher after the news,
outperforming other stocks listed on the Stoxx Europe 600
Automobiles index, which was up 0.6%.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Verkor has so
far raised 360 million euros ($397 million) from investors and
is in the process of raising more through equity and debt.
Alpine, Renault's relaunched high-performance sports car brand
which also supplies a Formula One racing team, grew its revenues
by a third last year, selling just over 3,500 cars. The historic
Alpine brand was world rallying champion in 1973.
The first car using the Verkor batteries will be the Alpine
C-Crossover GT, which Renault plans to start building in 2025.
Envision AESC, a Japanese subsidiary of Chinese group Envision,
will also provide batteries to Renault for use in smaller and
less powerful vehicles from another plant located in Douai, also
in northern France.
This is targeting an overall capacity of 9 GWh by 2024.
Also in the north of France, ACC - a subsidiary of Renault's
domestic rival Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes - plans to
establish a battery plant to deliver 24 GWh of batteries by the
end of the decade.
($1 = 0.9079 euros)
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume, writing by Tassilo Hummel,
editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Alexander Smith)
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