Tesla officially wins environmental approval for the German Gigafactory to produce 500,000 EVs

Tesla has obtained a conditional license to start production at its electric vehicle factory and adjacent battery plant in Gruenheide, Germany, finishing months of postponement for the milestone site that was at first expected to open the previous summer. Tesla has officially received environmental approval to begin production at Gigafactory Berlin – which was expected as we announced earlier this week – yet additionally true to form, there are a few caveats that will keep Tesla from officially initiating production.

Tesla’s Gigafactory in Germany won approval from nearby authorities on Friday, yet the organization actually needs to meet a few requirements before the plant can start production of vehicles, including worries about the plant’s water use.

The long-awaited green light is a major success for Elon Musk as his organization attempts to extend production capacity worldwide and defend its share of the electric-car market from encroaching giants like Volkswagen.

The construction permit declared during a press conference with local officials, came barely two years after Tesla originally declared expectations to build a factory in the municipality of Grünheide. From that point forward, Tesla had been building the plant under provisional permits notwithstanding the obvious danger.

Construction on the factory, which is almost finished, was postponed a few times by complaints from environmental groups in the area who fought the factory’s water use and expected interruption to wildlife. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the Gigafactory will use “relatively little” water and has contended that the forest that was cleared before the plant’s construction was “not a natural forest” since it had simply been planted to make cardboard.

As per a statement calling for a conference on Friday by the State of Brandenburg, Tesla’s approval for a battery and electric vehicle plant in Gruenheide is in the final stages, Reuters revealed.

Tesla is already doubling its efforts in China, constructing its second Gigafactory in Shanghai. The extension program will set off in March. The second plant will be near the Gigafactory in Lingang, Pudong.

The automaker is likewise setting up a design studio in Beijing after approval by local Governmental agencies in February.

Elon let known his disturbance in a letter to German specialists over the postponements in approval. He said that the country’s complex planning processes were at chances with the urgency to turn away the impacts of environmental change.

Tesla is hoping to extend its market in the European region. Presently, VW Group leads in electric vehicle sales, taking up 25% of the market share contrasted with Tesla’s 13%. Elon Musk was wanting to have the plant operational by December.

The European region offers a rewarding market for EV producers. Countries like the U.K. will stop the production of ICE by 2030 and are now setting up infrastructure to facilitate the transition.

With the plant set up in Germany, Tesla will have a fair shot competing for the top cake with the biggest automaker in the world, Volkswagen AG.

Musk initially declared in 2019 that Tesla would find its European gigafactory – that he has called a “machine that builds the machine” – in Germany. The organization said it expects to create upwards of 500,000 cars per year in Germany and have 12,000 workers at the plant. As per The New York Times, the plant is now assembling vehicle prototypes, however, it’s as yet unclear when it will start building its electric vehicles there.

“The approval procedure for the e-car and battery factory of the U.S. company Tesla in Gruenheide in Brandenburg is nearing completion,” the state government said in a statement.

Tesla has for months been anticipating approval for a licence to start production at the electric vehicle (EV) factory and neighboring battery plant in Gruenheide close to Berlin, slowed down by red tape and local opposition.

CEO Elon Musk has made his irritation for German laws and processes known, saying in a letter to specialists last year that the country’s complex planning requirements were at chances with the urgency expected to battle environmental change.

Musk had expected to have the plant – key to his desires to overcome the European market where Volkswagen right now holds the upper hand with a 25% share of electric vehicle sales to Tesla’s 13% – ready a half year prior.

Authorities said Tesla can begin production depending on the condition that it meets specific requirements as for the environmental impact of the plant, including air pollution and water usage. It actually needs to acquire a working permit before production can officially start, which should require approximately two weeks, a representative for the local government told Insider.

Tesla at first wanted to begin production in July 2021. It confronted different postponements, including environmental activists worried about the plant’s water consumption and what tree clearing would impact hibernating snakes and lizards. Tesla likewise needed to resubmit permit applications to reflect changes in its plans.

Following postponements, he said in October last year that he would have liked to have it operational by December. The organization has not further updated its timetable for the launch.

The factory is set to create over 500,000 battery-electric vehicles a year, while the battery plant will produce more than 50-gigawatt hours (GWh) each year – – exceeding European competitors on the two fronts.

The local environmental ministry in Brandenburg declared the approval on Friday in a 536-page document.

The decision incorporates various circumstances Tesla should satisfy concerning the use of water and air pollution control, two areas of the main issue for local environmental groups who dread that the plant will have a negative impact.

Tesla has been building the plant, which is near Berlin, under pre-approval permits.

The factory will assemble Model Y vehicles. The midsize SUVs at present are brought into Europe from Tesla’s Shanghai factory.

Authorities said they expect the plant should start producing cars this month. Over time, Tesla expects to scale production to 500,000 vehicles per year and employ 12,000 workers at the plant. In 2021, Tesla created a little more than 900,000 vehicles between its two facilities in Fremont, California, and Shanghai, China.

One more plant in Austin, Texas, has begun building Model Y SUVs in small numbers yet has not begun shipping vehicles to clients, Tesla said in January.