Macron: China's XTC to invest 1.5 billion euros in JV with France's Orano in Dunkirk

DUNKIRK, France (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Chinese group XTC New Energy Materials plans to set up a joint venture with France's Orano in the battery sector in the northern French port city of Dunkirk for an expected investment of 1.5 billion euros.

Macron made the announcement from Dunkirk, where he was officially announcing a 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion) investment by Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium in a new gigafactory in the same city.

"We just signed, with a joint venture between XTC and Orano, a second investment for the production of cathode material in lithium batteries," Macron said, adding that the venture would create 1,700 jobs.

Cathode materials, comprised of cobalt, nickel and manganese, are the main component of lithium batteries.

"(The XTC/Orano JV) will allow us to secure the top end of the value chain in lithium batteries production," Macron added.

The French president said ProLogium and the XTC/Orano joint venture would create 5,000 new jobs overall in Dunkirk.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Leigh Thomas)