Rheinmetall expands Aschau powder plant with €500 million investment

Rheinmetall announced a €500 million investment to build a new propellant (powder) factory in Aschau am Inn, Bavaria, with production slated to start in 2027. The project, dubbed “Project Firepower”, aims to raise annual output to about 4,200 metric tons by 2028 – more than a doubling of current capacity – and to increase the manufacture of propellant charges to over one million units per year.

The expansion will create roughly 1,300 direct jobs at the Aschau site. In addition, the company is allocating another €300 million to its three existing powder plants in Wimmis (Switzerland), Murcia and Burgos (Spain). Rheinmetall’s CEO Armin Papperger highlighted the strategic importance of self‑sufficiency in propellant for Germany, NATO and European defence amid the ammunition shortages caused by the war in Ukraine. Bavarian Premier Markus Söder and German Defence Deputy Minister Nils Schmidt attended the ground‑breaking ceremony.