Govt in talks with VW on building e-car battery plant in CR - HN

Prague, March 17 (CTK) - The Czech government has entered into talks with Germany's Volkswagen (VW) on the construction of an electric car battery plant in Czechia, and the talks are linked to a similar project of energy group CEZ, Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlicek told the Hospodarske noviny (HN) daily.

The Czech group said some time ago it was considering building a battery plant in the north of Bohemia.

Volkswagen, whose part is Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, said on Monday it wanted to have six battery plants in Europe by the year 2030. One factory might be built in Czechia, VW said.

"We are holding intensive talks that are linked to the Gigafactory CEZ project, which I consider to be one of the priorities and a key investment for the years to come," Havlicek told today's issue of the business daily.

"We should not miss this opportunity," he said referring to a lithium mining project.

A decision should be made this year, said Havlicek.

"CEZ keeps us informed, and either me or people from an Industry Ministry team are taking part in the talks with potential key investors in an emerging consortium," Havlicek said in the daily.

Havlicek said last year CEZ was thinking about building a lithium battery factory in northern Bohemia in the next few years. Lithium from Cinovec in Krusne hory (Ore Mountains), northern Bohemia, would be used for the production of lithium batteries for cars.

"It would be quite natural to have a partnership with a local producer like Skoda but, at the moment, we cannot make any comments on the talks," Pavel Cyrani, a deputy chairman of the board of directors at CEZ, told HN.

Havlicek said Czechia might provide direct support and a tax relief to VW.

Petr Knap, a EY consulting company partner for the car industry, said earlier that, apart from tax incentives, and labour costs and skills, a potential investor would also take into account the state support for electromobility. Czech state support is insignificant and well below the EU average, he said.

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