Gotion considers building battery factory in Morocco

Chinese battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner Gotion High-Tech is looking into building a large battery cell factory in Morocco. It is still unclear what the timetable will look like for the construction or production launch.

A letter of intent has already been signed by Gotion and the government of the North African country, which talks of a potential investment of 65 billion dirhams (around 6 billion euros) for a battery cell factory with an annual capacity of 100 gigawatt-hours. This would then create more than 25,000 jobs, according to the organizers. Normally, the MoU is a necessary first step before the possible signing of an investment agreement, as the Moroccan Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Convergence and the Evaluation of Public Policies, Mohcine Jazouli, added.

“Our group is delighted to be working with Morocco on this project to contribute to decarbonisation and the deployment of innovative energy solutions. The vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI has enabled Morocco to establish excellent economic relations with many countries around the world”, said Li Zhen, Chairman of Gotion High-Tech.

Gotion has been set on an expansion course lately, with a new international factory announced in Thailand and Vietnam in December and November last year, as well as additional factories in China. A new factory was also confirmed to be planned in Michigan in October last year, which will help the Chinese manufacturer take full advantage of the US subsidies. A factory in Germany is set to go live this year. Most recently, Gotion-High Tech presented a new lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) battery cell, which is intended to reach ranges of around 1,000 km.

reuters.com, agenceecofin.com, linkedin.com (both in French)