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       Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has joined with local, federal and international officials to mark the breaking of ground for a battery factory in the town of Heide in Schleswig-Holstein.

       In remarks at the ceremony, Scholz emphasised the importance of electric cars to the climate crisis and energy transition.

       He said, ''Northvolt's new factory near Heide will soon produce one million battery cells a year for electric cars.''

       3,000 jobs would be created directly at Swedish battery cell manufacturer Northvolt, with another 10,000 expected in the vicinity of the factory.

       Federal economy and climate protection minister Robert Habeck said, “Today is a good day for the west coast and for Germany as an industrial centre. The start of construction in Heide shows that the transformation towards climate neutrality and growth go hand in hand if the will is there and the framework conditions are right.

       "The Northvolt project is a beacon example of how we can positively shape the environmentally and climate-friendly transformation of our value chains.”