Roberto Viola, the bloc’s top civil servant on digital policy, praised the initiative in February as a “miracle that becomes real.”
The European Commission is set to select seven projects early next year and support them with an initial €100-200 million depending on the size, followed by another €400-€800 million later on.
In many cases, budgetary preparations are underway even if governments have no certainty that their local bid will be selected and the impact won’t be felt for another two years.
In mid-July, the Polish Council of Ministers adopted a resolution to approve Poland’s €100 million commitment, its Digital Affairs ministry said. Lithuania’s commitment was also approved mid-July, its economy ministry said.
The actual investment comes only when the gigafactories are operational, when the government becomes a “guaranteed customer,” the scheme stipulates.
“There is a setup period of up to 18 months during which the facility is configured, deployed and prepared for operation … Public payments start only at that point”, a spokesperson for the Irish Department for Further and Higher Education said. Ireland has pledged €10 million to a gigafactory hosted by France.
The Commission plans to select the winning bids early next year, after which the factories can be built in the next year-and-a-half. It means many governments will only have to start paying in 2028, with payments spread out over the following five years.
This article has been updated.