German defense contractor Rheinmetall has begun construction in Bavaria of one of Europe’s largest gunpowder production plants.

The company noted that Rheinmetall continues to significantly expand its production capacity as part of the Firepower project. "For these purposes, one of the largest and most modern gunpowder plants in Europe is being built at Rheinmetall’s historic facility in Aschau am Inn — one of the sites of its subsidiary Nitrochemie. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Defense Nils Schmid, and Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy Hubert Aiwanger," the group emphasized.

By expanding the plant’s area from 90 to 110 hectares, the company explained, it plans to significantly increase output of propellant charge components for barrel artillery and other large-caliber systems. "The workforce in Aschau continues to grow: since 2022, it has increased by about 80% and has exceeded 800 employees. Several hundred more jobs are now planned here, which means the facility will employ 1,400 people in the future," Rheinmetall said.

The phased launch of production at the new facilities is expected to begin in 2027. At present, the group clarified, the Aschau site operates around the clock, producing about 1,700 tons of gunpowder and around 300,000 propellant charge modules per year. Over the next 24 months, production volumes of gunpowder and charge modules are planned to more than double. As a result, up to 2,500 additional tons of gunpowder, more than 5 million combustible molded parts, and over 1 million modular elements of propellant charges will be produced in Aschau. Maximum production capacity will be reached in 2028.

"Rheinmetall is investing €500 million in the largest and most modern gunpowder factory in Europe. This makes a decisive contribution to the resilience and autonomy of the defense sector and also creates 500 new, stable jobs in the region," Söder said.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that amid the conflict in Ukraine, stockpiles of weapons-grade gunpowder in Germany and among its NATO and EU allies have been significantly depleted in recent years. Rheinmetall, which along with France’s Eurenco and Norwegian-Swedish Nammo is one of the few manufacturers of weapons-grade gunpowder in Europe, aims to increase its production to 20,000 tons by 2030 in order to supply the German armed forces, NATO countries, and the EU.