Global automotive giant, Renault Group and European low-carbon battery pioneer, Verkor, have entered a long-term commercial partnership for the supply of batteries for electric vehicles.
As a part of the pact, Verkor will supply Renault Group with the equivalent of 12 GWh of batteries each year, Renault Group wrote in a statement posted on its website.
These batteries will be used in the upper segments of Renault Group’s brands, starting with the future Alpine 100% electric C-Crossover GT, manufactured in Dieppe, France, from 2025, the statement noted.
These high-performance and low-carbon batteries will be produced in France at the future Verkor Gigafactory in Dunkirk, Renault said.
This announcement marks an important step in Verkor’s development, and consolidates the strategic partnership started with Renault Group’s acquisition of a stake in Verkor in June 2021, the statement added.
Since then, Renault Group and Verkor have approved the technical quality of the product, its economic competitiveness, and its industrialization process, from the Verkor Innovation Centre in Grenoble (VIC) to the construction of the Dunkirk Gigafactory, which will be operational in 2025.
Commenting on the development, Benoit Lemaignan, co-founder, and chairman of the management board of Verkor said, “The trust that Renault Group has shown in us since the beginning is now materialised in this long-term commercial partnership.”
He said, this is further evidence of the attractiveness and credibility of our project as we raise the necessary funds to build our Gigafactory in Dunkirk. Manufacturing batteries in Europe and controlling the value chain are fundamental to the energy transition.
Agreeing with him François Provost, Renault Group chief purchasing, partnerships, and public affairs officer said, ” This commercial partnership allows us to secure a long-term supply of electric batteries and to ensure a reinforced traceability of the elements which compose them.
Renault Group is thus continuing to develop in France, at the heart of Europe, a robust electrical ecosystem of technology centres, vehicle, engine, and battery factories, said Provost.