Support aims to stop production being lured overseas with promise of bigger foreign subsidies

The EU has announced €4bn (£3.4bn) of state aid investments in new factories producing electric batteries for cars, heat pumps and solar panels as it seeks to accelerate production and the uptake of green technologies and combat cheap Chinese imports.

The Swedish battery producer Northvolt will receive €902m in state aid to build a new factory in Heide in Germany, while a wide range of clean tech factories in France are to get a €2.5bn bump in state aid.

  • @[email protected]English
    3•1 year ago

    That doesn’t seem very much at all.

    Three year old article

    "State subsidies for company cars top €32bn in UK and EU

    UK alone spends €5.7bn and Germany €12bn but analysis finds subsidies often go towards most polluting fleet vehicles"

    Especially heat pumps and insulation could do with huge goverment aid.

    • Riddick3001OPEnglish
      1•1 year ago

      That doesn’t seem very much at all.

      This article is also 3 three years old; Germany allocated € 5 bn and UK 3 bn for EVs.

      If I see this correct, it was a 44-56 % split three years ago.

      I couldn’t find any proper comprehensive and comparable studies for subsidies and investments in ICE and EV.

      Also there is a difference between subsidies like incentives, tax cuts, and investments

      • @[email protected]English
        0•1 year ago

        Still substising a developed industry that is polluting seems like a bad idea. Don’t know why they are getting any money to make an ICE car

        I’m not even convinced the push to evs is the right answer. It should be a push to public transport.

        • Riddick3001OPEnglish
          2•1 year ago

          should be a push to public transport.

          Don’t know where you are from, but most of Europe has had good public transport. Though it can always be better, so Europe is pushing further with for example the TEN project, and check some vids on YT.

          Also, imo, there is no " one" right answer. No holy grail nor whatever. Most choices are incrementel.Usuallly It’s a shift of awareness, technology ( in a form) and culture, which hopefully leads to a better tomorrow. The difference is that the majority of the problems we face have no precedent. 8 bn humans worldwide is a first since for ever.