<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">France will launch its first battery factory for electric cars on Tuesday, taking a big step in its race to build up a sector dominated by China.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Building up the battery industry is at the heart of President Emmanuel Macron's "reindustrialisation" plan for France, with a clutch of factories set to emerge in the north of the country over the next three years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The "gigafactory" opening in Billy-Berclau is owned by Automotive Cells Company, a partnership between French energy giant TotalEnergies, Germany's Mercedes-Benz and US-European automaker Stellantis, which produces a range of brands including Peugeot, Fiat and Chrysler.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and the country's energy transition and industry ministers will attend the inauguration, along with German and Italian officials.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The heads of Mercedes, Stellantis and TotalEnergies will also be at the event.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The factory is the length of six football pitches. Production is due to begin this summer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Elected officials and business leaders hope to turn the Hauts-de-France region into "Battery Valley" -- the electric car industry's answer to Silicon Valley.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sino-Japanese group AESC-Envision is building a plant near the city of Douai which will supply French automaker Renault from early 2025.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">French startup Verkor is scheduled to begin production at a facility in Dunkirk from mid-2025 while Taiwan's ProLogium has also chosen the coastal city for its first European factory, with output to start in 2026.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- China, US competition -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Europe is racing to step up its production of batteries and electric vehicles as the European Union has set a 2035 deadline to phase out the sale of new fossil fuel cars.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Around 50 battery factory projects have been announced in the EU in recent years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The French government has set a target of producing two million electric vehicles per year by 2030, according to the economy ministry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ministry said the ACC plant will supply 500,000 vehicles per year by then.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">China is the world leader in electric car battery production and also dominates the production of the raw materials needed to make them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Europe also faces stiff competition from the United States, which is heavily subsidising the sector through the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $370 billion in clean energy incentives. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>