"We want to go to an IPO, depending on market conditions" in
parallel to the fundraising process for the Dunkirk plant, Yang
said.
The French investment is about more than just building an
overseas production hub as ProLogium is also setting up
facilities outside Taiwan for procuring materials as well as
research and development activities, Normand said.
"We are really replicating the company from Taiwan, from its
initial city, it is a partial transfer to Europe," he added.
The French plant, which is due to begin operating by the end
of 2026 and reach mass production the following year, will in
particular produce new solid-state batteries offering what the
company says are big advantages over lithium-ion batteries
currently used in most electric cars.
The company, which has 600 patents on the technology and
six carmakers testing it, says that they will be safer for
consumers, simpler to manufacture, offer more storage capacity
and better recyclability as well as charge faster.
"We think our technology is now ready for mass production
before the beginning of the next decade, when everybody is
waiting for solid state not to happen before 2030," Normand
said.
($1 = 0.9084 euro)
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris
Writing by Leigh Thomas
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
