A német EV akkumulátorgyárak leálltak: Hiányzik a vezetés?

Germany promised to be Europe’s battery hub. Billions were committed, shovels went into the ground, and timelines looked ambitious but possible. Fast forward, and the map tells a different story: some projects are thriving, others are paused, and a few have been abandoned altogether.

ACC has paused Kaiserslautern. Volkswagen’s PowerCo is moving ahead in Salzgitter but only with one line for now. Northvolt is still building Heide, even as its German TopCo restructures. SVOLT has exited both of its planned German sites.

CATL’s Arnstadt facility, on the other hand, is up and running. Same country, same market, very different outcomes.

Demand softened after subsidies ended in late 2023, but leadership choices ultimately decided who kept momentum and who stalled.

When leadership bandwidth thins during a pause, firms like CE Interim embed a program director to keep lenders, regions, and OEMs aligned.

Four leadership tests hiding in plain sight

I. Demand realism after the subsidy cliff

A abrupt end of subsidies in late 2023 created a 27 percent drop in BEV registrations during 2024. Boards that quickly acknowledged the new reality recalibrated production, contracts, and hiring.

Those that clung to the 2022 demand curve left contractors and suppliers carrying the risk.

II. Chemistry agility, not just cost talk

The global pivot to lower cost chemistries such as LFP was visible well before 2024. Strong leadership meant retooling early, renegotiating vendor agreements, and resetting bills of process.

Weak leadership meant waiting for clarity that never came.

III. Staged capex gates that are real

Saying “demand driven” only matters if milestones are tied to real contracts, price floors, and financing triggers. Volkswagen’s decision to move with one line at Salzgitter, while keeping the second line contingent, is a practical example of how to do this.

IV. Stakeholder cadence that does not leak confidence

Credibility comes from rhythm. Weekly updates with lenders, regions, and contractors keep belief alive. When communication slows, spreads widen, and confidence disappears.

The pieces everyone forgot to test

I. Permits, grid, and energy logic

Even with capital approved, projects stumble on basics like BImSchG permits, grid connection timing, or weak PPAs. A single missed permit date can stall a billion-euro site.

II. Offtake quality, not just volume

Contracts that look impressive on a slide may still be fragile. Without indexation, clear penalties, and strong step-down clauses, 20 GWh of “committed demand” can vanish.

III. JV governance clarity

Joint ventures add complexity. Who decides chemistry changes, who funds the re-spec, and who takes responsibility for delays? When governance is unclear, projects lose weeks and credibility.

Paired cases, straight up

I. ACC Kaiserslautern pause vs PowerCo Salzgitter gating

ACC paused Kaiserslautern to rethink chemistry. PowerCo faced the same headwinds but sized its rollout to reality, starting with one line and gating the next. Both saw the same market, but only one adjusted in time.

II. SVOLT exits vs CATL Arnstadt ramps

SVOLT cancelled both Saarland and Brandenburg projects in 2024, citing weak demand. Meanwhile CATL’s Arnstadt site is running and scaling. The difference lies in execution discipline, permits, and contract depth.

III. Northvolt Heide builds under TopCo restructuring

Northvolt continues construction at Heide even as its holding company restructures. Execution continues, but lenders and contractors need reassurance. Leadership here is about visible communication and consistency.

The leadership ledger, not the weather report

Boards cannot control demand swings, but they can control how they respond. Resizing on time, pivoting chemistry, gating capex with real conditions, and keeping stakeholders informed are all leadership decisions.

Market conditions explain part of the story, but execution decisions explain the rest.

Three signals for your next board pack

Backlog quality drift – Are cancellations rising and mix shifting toward low-margin contracts?

Chemistry re-spec progress – Have vendors aligned, tools arrived, and first article dates been set?

Lender confidence spread – Are credit terms, audits, and drawdowns still on track, or showing stress?

What to do when the project must pause

Delays do not have to mean collapse. Leaders must keep contractors engaged without overspending, preserve customer confidence with transparent timelines, and protect critical path materials.

That is where interim CTOs or program leaders can step in. An interim leader can align vendors and manage retooling so a legal pause does not turn into an operational standstill.

Germany did not stall everywhere

Some plants moved forward, others slipped. The dividing line was not just subsidies or imports. It was leadership. Projects stalled where boards hesitated to resize, re-spec, or re-sequence.

If your project is slowing, ask whether the issue is really the market or the leadership decisions shaping execution. If the timeline must shift, firms like CE Interim deploy interim teams to hold customer confidence and protect capex discipline until it is safe to resume.

Because in the end, gigafactories do not fail on paper. They fail in execution.