Verkor secures over 1.3 billion euros through a green loan from 19 banking entities for it’s first Gigafactory in Dunkirk, France

Paris --Verkor secures over 1.3 billion euros in green financing with the support of 16 commercial banks and 3 public banks. These funds will be directly allocated to the construction and financing of Verkor’s first Gigafactory located in Dunkirk, with an initial production capacity of 16 GWh/year. With this new transaction, the total amount of financing secured by Verkor for its first Gigafactory and the Verkor Innovation Centre peaks at more than 3 billion euros.

This additional financial support solidifies the trust of the banking partners in the impact of Verkor’s project to provide low-carbon, high-performance batteries to the European automotive industry and thereby fully contribute to Europe’s industrial sovereignty in electric mobility and energy storage.

A solid ecosystem of public and private banking partners

After the initial impetus of lead banks two years ago (European Investment Bank, BpiFrance, ING Bank N.V. and Banco Santander) and the support of financial advisors (Diadamante, Société Générale and Macquarie Capital), Verkor has now secured the support of new public and private players.

Verkor has chosen to bring together a wide range of banking partners to meet the financing needs of its first Gigafactory and build a robust financial ecosystem to support the company’s growth.

The European Investment Bank brings an investment of 400 million euros to Verkor. This includes 270 million euros in direct loans under the InvestEU mandate of the European Commission and 130 million euros of intermediated loans to the commercial banks funding the deal.

The commercial banks involved in this financing round are ABN AMRO Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Banco Santander, La Banque Postale, Caisse d’Epargne et de Prévoyance Hauts de France, Caisse d’Epargne Rhône-Alpes, Coöperatieve Rabobank, ING BANK N.V, KfW IPEX-Bank, Kommunalkredit Austria, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Natixis, SMBC Bank International, Société Générale and Standard Chartered Bank.

These banks are contributing 961 million euros in senior loans, 353 million of which are guaranteed by the French government under its “Garantie des Projets Stratégiques” (GPS), operated by BPI Assurance Export.

Banque des Territoires, Caisse des Dépôts group, as part of its commitment to industrial redevelopment and accelerating ecological transformation, has provided its support by granting a bridging loan of 130 million euros followed by a subordinated loan of 150 million euros.

Unprecedented green loan salutes Verkor’s major environmental commitment

Verkor will produce low-carbon batteries with one of the smallest environmental footprints in the world. As proof of the environmental quality of its project, Verkor has received the “Dark Green” rating from the independent rating agency Standard & Poor’s, the highest possible for a green loan. This rating guarantees that the project financed complies with numerous environmental criteria that are regularly audited and measured, to guarantee its ecological commitment.

Located in the Dunkirk area, the Gigafactory will be operational in 2025 and will create around 1,200 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs over the next 2 years. This facility makes Verkor a major partner for players in the mobility and stationary storage sectors.

Benoit Lemaignan, CEO of Verkor, comments: “We are proud to secure 1.3 billion euros to further develop our ambitions. This debt financing will enable us to finalize the construction of our Gigafactory, which will produce its first low-carbon battery cells in 2025. The participation of 19 leading banks in demonstrates the credibility of our project, and enables us to accelerate our drive to become one of Europe’s leading battery manufacturers. We are also delighted that this financing takes the form of an unprecedented ‘green loan’.”

Diadamante, Société Générale and Macquarie Capital, and Allen & Overy and Linklaters supported Verkor with financial and legal advisory on this transaction.