Romania will not become a source of battery supply for electric cars in Europe, after losing a 1.4 billion euro investment announced by the Belgian company Avesta Battery and Energy Engineering (ABEE) in Galati.
The factory would have created around 8,000 jobs, but the investment will no longer be realized, as confirmed by Noshin Omar, founder and president of Avesta Holding.
"We have been trying for over 2 years to reach an agreement with the Government, but it was not possible. The Government's support was weak," he said to Profit.ro.
The confirmation also came from the Government through unofficial sources, but Executive representatives claim that investors had requested dedicated state aid, while the national scheme in the field is a competitive one.
After deciding to end their collaboration on the project in Romania, the people at Avesta started negotiations with two other countries to find the perfect location for their factory.
The huge investment was announced in June 2023. ABEE said it would build a battery factory for electric cars in the Galati Free Zone.
The official announcement of this investment took place at the Town Hall in Ninove, Belgium, with representatives of ABEE and high officials in attendance: the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, the Director-General of the European Commission, Joaquim Nunes de Almeida, the Minister of Economy of Romania, Stefan Radu Oprea, the Mayor of Ninove, Tania De Jonge, MEP Dan Nica, and the Mayor of Galati, Ionut Pucheanu.
