January 28 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) approved a project within the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) mechanism, clearing the way for Croatia and 11 other member states to award a total of 2.9 billion euro ($3.5 billion) of public funds to support battery R&D, Croatia's ministry of regional development and EU funds said.
Croatian electric vehicle developer and producer Rimac Automobili will be involved in the project as one of the 42 direct participants which will cooperate with each other in the project implementation, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The public funding is expected to unlock an additional 9 billion euro in private investments within the bloc, the ministry added.
The project, which is expected to be completed by 2028, was jointly prepared by Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
It is expected to contribute to the development of new technological breakthroughs, including different cell chemistries and production processes, and other innovations in the battery value chain, the EC said in a statement earlier this week.
($ = 0.8258 euro)