The electromobility revolution will not be possible without the construction of battery factories. The Czechia does not want to play a secondary role in this. There are several reasons for this. It is an automotive power and also has world-renowned lithium sources.
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Due to the mass transition to electromobility, 32 battery factories are to be built in Europe. According to earlier information, two of them could be in the Czech Republic.
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The Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček is now talking about a factory. “It should be one. But gigafactory is a trend, the demand will be here and nowhere is it written that in time there will not be two factories. We are negotiating with two foreign partners, “he told the editorial staff of SZ Byznys.
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According to him, the cost of building such a factory with a capacity of 40 gigawatt hours is generally around 50 to 60 billion crowns.
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He did not want to name potential foreign investors, but previously confirmed to foreign media that the government is negotiating with the Volkswagen Group and it is another public secret that the interested party is the South Korean group LG. This was confirmed to the editors by Jaroslav Rokos, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Suas Group, which is a sister company of Sokolovská uhelná and is developing sustainable projects after the decline in coal mining. “There are several people interested in building a gigafactory. They are not decided to build in the Czech Republic, and if so, in the Karlovy Vary or Ústí nad Labem regions, “he added.
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State negotiators from the Ministry of Industry and Czech Invest have a condition that ČEZ be involved in at least one project, which is going to mine lithium at Cínovec in the Ore Mountains. The factory would employ several thousand people.
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Tough negotiations on billion-dollar support
According to Havlíček, there are now tough negotiations about the conditions under which investors would be interested in starting the battery business in the Czech Republic. “It simply came to our notice then. It is not only about direct financial support, it is also a question of indirect support associated with a qualified workforce, optimal location, energy resources that will be there, but also transport infrastructure, “he said, adding that the incentives should be negotiated by the current government.
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Several percent of the world’s lithium reserves are in the Czech Republic. That’s why flashlights should just stand here. But fair conditions must apply in subsidies.
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The Czechia is not the only one who has an eminent interest in the construction of factories worth tens of billions, which will employ several thousand people. According to the head of the Electromobility Association, Lukáš Hataš, Poland, where the largest battery factory in Europe already stands, attracts investors with generous financial incentives.
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“Several percent of the world’s lithium reserves are located in the Czech Republic. That’s why flashlights should just stand here. But fair conditions must apply in subsidies. Not that one gets and another doesn’t, “he warns.
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The proposed end of sales of cars with internal combustion engines in Europe from 2035 outlines great business opportunities. Over a million cars with internal combustion engines will be produced in the Czech Republic every year, which I will gradually have to replace with cars with alternative propulsion. The European Commission’s new strategy “Fit for 55” envisages this. But it must be approved by the European Parliament and, above all, by the European states, and it will not be easy.
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Production of passenger cars fell by a fifth to 1.15 million last year due to the pandemic. The Czech autoland thus returned to 2014. In 2019, 274 thousand more cars drove out of domestic factories.
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According to Hatas, however, one will not be enough, but maybe not even two battery factories, and it may be necessary to build three in the end. On the contrary, they do not see the problem in lithium capacities, as already used batteries could be industrially processed. And it would not be necessary to produce as many cars as today, because electric cars can easily carry twice the portion of kilometers driven.
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A battery recycling plant could be built here. The whole project would generate several thousand jobs and could serve to revive the Sokolov region after the coal downturn.
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Sokolovská uhelná is also talking about battery processing, offering a plot of land in Starý Sedle for the construction of a battery factory, where, according to Jaroslav Rokos, representatives of the Volkswagen Group and LG were on tour.
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Like ČEZ, Suas Group has secured sources of a key element – lithium. He would benefit from the old landfills that the RSJ group around the billionaire Karel Janeček acquired in the past. At the plant in Vřesová, lithium could be separated and refined from waste clays, which would be imported by rail from the locality in nearby Horní Slavkov. There are lithium reserves for about ten years.
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The coal miner also talks about the possibility of processing discharged batteries, which are still an important energy source after life. “A battery recycling plant could be built here. The whole project would generate several thousand jobs and could serve to revive the Sokolov region after the coal slump, “says Rokos.
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The factory could also be established in Northern Bohemia within a consortium consisting of the ČEZ energy company and the Volkswagen Group, which is the owner of Škoda Auto in Mladá Boleslav. The semi-state energy giant is preparing to mine lithium near Cínovec in the Ore Mountains.
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