TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Car battery maker ProLogium said in a statement Friday (May 12) that moving forward, it is not just a Taiwanese company but a global enterprise, while company executives revealed Thursday (May 11) the company would build its largest factory in France.ProLogium Chief Executive Vincent Yang (楊思枏) told reporters the move was motivated by “political issues,” per Reuters. He said because of this, the company’s board does not want to enlarge capacity in Taiwan."Moving forward, ProLogium will not just be a Taiwanese company, it must become a global enterprise,” a public statement on the ProLogium website confirmed Friday (May 12).There is a planned investment of around US$5.68 billion (NT$174.6 billion) in the “gigafactory” located in the Dunkirk region, which will produce solid-state batteries. It is set to begin operation in 2026 and reach full production capacity the following year.In January 2022, ProLogium signed a cooperation agreement with Mercedes Benz Group AG to receive inward investment targeting solid-state battery development, and was granted a seat on the Mercedes board. Mercedes executive Gilles Normand said the investment represented a partial transfer of the company to Europe."We are really replicating the company from Taiwan,” he said.Director of the Asia Program at Institut Montaigne Mathieu Duchatel said the investment represents double the current level of Taiwanese investment in the EU. He added that it may be enough to change the perception that Taiwan under invests in Europe.The announcement comes as the French government rolls out new tax credits for environmentally friendly investments, which the French presidential office said will cover a company's capital expenditures on up to 40% of their investments in wind and solar power, heat pumps, and batteries.Taiwanese technology companies are increasingly investing outside Taiwan. iPhone manufacturer Foxconn began construction on a factory in Thailand and purchased a plant in the U.S. state of Ohio in 2022, while semiconductor manufacturer TSMC is negotiating a reported US$40 billion investment in the U.S.UPDATE: 2023 05 13, 12:29 p.m.: A Reuters quote that ProLogium said was wrong and attributed to its Chief Executive Vincent Yang has been replaced with a public statement on the company website: "Moving forward, ProLogium will not just be a Taiwanese company, it must become a global enterprise.” The subhead and lead have also been amended to reflect this.By Jono Thomson, Taiwan News, Staff Writer2023/05/12 14:13 (ICE TAIPEI)

Fonte notizia: Organi di Stampa - Taiwan News