BERLIN, March 25 -- The Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt on Monday started to construct its 4.5 billion-euro (4.9 billion U.S. dollars) plant of electric vehicle (EV) batteries in Germany's northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The plant is due to start operation in 2026. With a designed maximum annual production capacity of 60 gigawatt hours (GWh), it will supply battery cells for up to 1 million EVs a year.

Germany contributed 902 million euros to the construction. "Investments like Northvolt's are of strategic importance for our country and for Europe," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the ground-breaking ceremony. He noted that the production of quality cars remains the country's backbone, which requires domestic production of battery cells.

The gigafactory is expected to create 3,000 jobs directly and another 10,000 in the area around the factory.

Faced with growing locational disadvantages due to high energy costs, Germany is eager to draw foreign investment. According to the German Economic Institute (IW), only 22 billion euros were invested in the Europe's largest economy last year, the lowest level in a decade, while net investment outflows have steadily increased in the past three years. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars)

  - Xinhua