The Battery Company Freyr Cuts in Giga Arctic Investment
Freyr is building the Giga Arctic factory in Mo i Rana, Nordland, Northern Norway. The photo is from May 2023. Giga Arctic was scheduled to be in production at the end of 2024. (Photo: FREYR Battery)
The battery company Freyr has decided to cut costs in building the battery factory in Mo i Rana, Northern Norway, next year. "The news of Freyr putting the factory building for battery production on hold in Mo i Rana is sad and severe," says the Chair of the County Government, Sven Øien Eggesvik.
The battery company Freyr will cut the costs at their battery venture in Mo i Rana in 2024. This was revealed in a press release from the company on Thursday.
Freyr is building the battery factory Giga Arctic in Mo i Rana, Nordland. The Giga factory has been referred to as potentially one of the largest investments in mainland Norway in recent times.
Freyr is now choosing to minimize Giga Arctic spending for 2024.
"The decision to minimize spending is intended to allow for continued technology development at the CQP while Freyr continues to work with stakeholders in Norway and Europe to establish competitive regulatory framework conditions for scaling battery manufacturing," writes the company.
CQP is Freyr's Customer's Qualification Plant on Mo.
Ventures in the US
"Norway and Europe have yet to offer a competitive response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) or similar incentives from Canada. Accordingly, FREYR plans to minimize spending on the project in 2024, secure the asset with the remaining committed capital spending, and continue to work with stakeholders in Norway and Europe to develop a mutually attractive policy solution," the press release reads.
Before the summer, it was made known that Freyr would continue the project in Mo i Rana at a measured pace in favor of a US venture – the building of the Giga America factory in the state of Georgia.
The company further pointed to an expectation of a potential Norwegian response to the US' financial support package for American businesses – meant to accelerate the construction of green industry in the US.
"Disappointing"
"The news of Freyr putting the factory building for battery production on hold in Mo i Rana is sad and severe for the Rana community," says the Chair of the County Government, Sven Øien Eggesvik.
"As it currently looks, this may entail downsizing and that the planned giga factory in Mo will not be realized until the framework conditions in Norway and Europe are possibly changed," Eggesvik adds, believing that this is a severe setback for the industrial development in Nordland.
"We, the county council, will now look at what other measures we may employ to support the growth of green industry in the county. The county will surely support the Rana community with the challenges that may arise with the downscaling at Freyr in the coming time," he says.
