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ENVIRONMENT

Tesla founder Elon Musk reveals new ‘Giga Berlin’ factory design

Technology entrepreneur, investor, and engineer Elon Musk has revealed an artist's impression of how his new Tesla site near Berlin might look – and shared his ideas for a rave and swimming pool.

Published: 15 July 2020 15:27 CEST
Tesla founder Elon Musk reveals new 'Giga Berlin' factory design
The site where the factory will be. Photo: DPA

Tesla is getting to work on a huge factory in the Brandenburg countryside just outside the German capital and it is scheduled to be ready sometime next year.

On Wednesday Tesla co-founder Musk, who's known for broadcasting his thoughts and ideas on Twitter, tweeted a picture to his nearly 37 million followers. He shared the artists' impression of the Gigafactory with the caption: “Giga Berlin”.

And, as Musk's photo shows, it doesn't look all that shabby.


According to Musk, the roof will be equipped with solar panels. And the factory may have another special feature: a dance floor for ravers – “Possibly indoors and outdoors,” Musk wrote.

Tesla factory with swimming pool on the roof?

When asked by a user whether there will be a swimming pool on the roof, Musk answered briefly but clearly: “Sure,” he said.

We'll see soon enough if he's being serious.

Tesla's Berlin-Brandenburg Giga Factory was announced in November 2019 as part of the company's plan to increase its presence in Europe. It's located in the municipality of Grünheide, south east of Berlin. 

The new factory should become operational in 2021, initially focusing on Model Y production. Tesla says it expects the Gigafactory to produce 10,000 vehicles per week and employ up to 12,000 people in this first phase of operation.

READ ALSO: New Tesla factory near Berlin to create thousands of jobs

The fact that Musk is sharing a picture right now is probably not by chance. Tesla can now start building the foundation for the building – even though the complete environmental permit is still pending.


Elon Musk during an awards show in Germany in November 2019. Photo: DPA

The Brandenburg State Environmental Agency has given the green light for the approval of an early start of foundation and foundation works, the Ministry of the Environment announced in Potsdam. Tesla must comply with regulations, including regarding water protection.

Construction work had to briefly stop in February after an environmental group raised warnings.

The Berlin construction will be Tesla's fourth Gigafactory after New York, Nevada, and Shanghai. 

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ENVIRONMENT

Sweden’s SSAB to build €4.5bn green steel plant in Luleå 

The Swedish steel giant SSAB has announced plans to build a new steel plant in Luleå for 52 billion kronor (€4.5 billion), with the new plant expected to produce 2.5 million tons of steel a year from 2028.

Published: 2 April 2024 13:44 CEST
Sweden's SSAB to build €4.5bn green steel plant in Luleå 

“The transformation of Luleå is a major step on our journey to fossil-free steel production,” the company’s chief executive, Martin Lindqvist, said in a press release. “We will remove seven percent of Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions, strengthen our competitiveness and secure jobs with the most cost-effective and sustainable sheet metal production in Europe.”

The new mini-mill, which is expected to start production at the end of 2028 and to hit full capacity in 2029, will include two electric arc furnaces, advanced secondary metallurgy, a direct strip rolling mill to produce SSABs specialty products, and a cold rolling complex to develop premium products for the transport industry.

It will be fed partly from hydrogen reduced iron ore produced at the HYBRIT joint venture in Gälliväre and partly with scrap steel. The company hopes to receive its environemntal permits by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: 

The announcement comes just one week after SSAB revealed that it was seeking $500m in funding from the US government to develop a second HYBRIT manufacturing facility, using green hydrogen instead of fossil fuels to produce direct reduced iron and steel.

The company said it also hoped to expand capacity at SSAB’s steel mill in Montpelier, Iowa. 

The two new investment announcements strengthen the company’s claim to be the global pioneer in fossil-free steel.

It produced the world’s first sponge iron made with hydrogen instead of coke at its Hybrit pilot plant in Luleå in 2021. Gälliväre was chosen that same year as the site for the world’s first industrial scale plant using the technology. 

In 2023, SSAB announced it would transform its steel mill in Oxelösund to fossil-free production.

The company’s Raahe mill in Finland, which currently has new most advanced equipment, will be the last of the company’s big plants to shift away from blast furnaces. 

The steel industry currently produces 7 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and shifting to hydrogen reduced steel and closing blast furnaces will reduce Sweden’s carbon emissions by 10 per cent and Finland’s by 7 per cent.

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