Accelerating the future of sustainable mobility with start-up Verkor

Securing a record financing of more than €2 billion marks a significant step forward in the plans for French car battery start-up Verkor, as it prepares to launch its first high performance battery gigafactory in Dunkirk, France.

When Verkor was founded in 2020, it set out a clear ambition: to fast-track low-carbon battery production in France, to serve the growing demand for electric mobility and stationary storage in Europe.

Collaborating for the future of sustainable mobility

After looking at 40 locations in western Europe for its first plant, Verkor settled on Dunkirk in France - in part due to its local energy resources (including the availability of low carbon nuclear power). The team also established contracts with tier-one partners, including a long-term commercial partnership with Renault Group.

With its robust development plan, and strategic vision cemented, Verkor turned to Hogan Lovells partners Matthieu Grollemund and Hélène Parent to help make its plans a reality. Both partners have a track record of helping start-ups and innovative business models secure financing, and they pulled together a cross-practice, cross-industry team to ensure success.

Securing a record-financing for a French start-up

On 14 September 2023, Verkor announced it had raised more than €2 billion in financing to launch its first plant. This financing, being a mix of equity, debt and subsidies, is the largest equity raise for a French start up, with more than €850m raised in Series C.

The fundraising was led by Macquarie Asset Management via its Energy Transition Solutions Fund and cornerstone investor Meridiam. Renault Group, EQT Ventures, EIT InnoEnergy, Sibanye-Stillwater, the SPI investment fund operated by Bpifrance, Predica and the Strategic Participations Fund operated by Isalt also participated in this round.

In addition to the equity fundraising, Verkor obtained the approval of European Investment Bank for €600m debt support and French subsidies for c. €650m.

Ensuring sustainable mobility solutions in Europe

The funding will not only help to provide the European automotive industry with low-carbon batteries but will also play a key role to support the European sovereignty on sustainable electric mobility and energy storage.

“These giga projects reflect the ambition to achieve carbon neutral transportation in an incredibly short timeframe. They require a unique set of skills, mixing tech, infra, complex contracts, regulatory and asset back financing capabilities with a particularly large number of stakeholders with distinctive business cultures ranging from large strategic players, state owed parties and PE players. Hogan Lovells is uniquely qualified to navigate these challenging deals successfully,” said Matthieu Grollemund and Hélène Parent.