FREYR Battery Sanctions Construction of its Inaugural Gigafactory

FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) (“FREYR”), a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, announced today that the company’s Board of Directors (“The Board”) has approved the expansion of the planned Giga Arctic project under development in Mo i Rana, Norway, to an annual nameplate capacity of 29 GWh. FREYR’s Board of Directors has also approved the construction of Giga Arctic. The approval follows substantial completion of detailed plant engineering; the establishment of procurement frameworks with key raw material and capital equipment suppliers; and the announcements of conditional offtake agreements totaling more than 125 GWh from the planned start of production in 1H-2024 through 2030. Groundworks at the site are well advanced and the company has recently started casting foundation structures.

The Board’s decision coincides with the announcement of a letter of intent indicating loans and/or guarantees of up to €400 million from Eksfin, Norway’s export credit agency (“ECA”), and the recently announced National Battery Strategy by the Norwegian Government, which outlines meaningful governmental support for the developing battery industry in Norway.

“If we are to reach the goals in the Paris agreement, batteries will need to be produced in a more sustainable way with the lowest CO2 footprint possible. It is therefore important for Norway to define a clear direction and set ambitious goals for battery production in our country. The National Battery Strategy that we just launched, defines ten areas of key importance that will facilitate private investments so that companies along the entire value chain can set up sustainable and successful businesses in Norway. Our unmatched access to renewable energy makes batteries produced in Norway the greenest in the world. I am therefore very pleased and excited that FREYR Battery is moving along with its plans to establish a Gigafactory in Norway based on state capital and risk relief. It is an important confirmation that public and private partnerships are important to be successful in creating the green industry of the future,” said the Minister of Trade and Industry, Jan Christian Vestre.