China’s Gotion High Tech will build Morocco’s first EV battery gigafactory for a total cost of 12.8 billion dirhams (USD 1.3 billion), the Moroccan government said on Thursday.
Gotion High Tech is the latest company to invest in EV battery manufacturing in Morocco, which seeks to adapt its growing automotive sector to rising demand for electric vehicles.
The Moroccan government and Gotion High Tech signed an investment deal for the gigafactory which will have an initial battery capacity of 20 gigawatts per hour (GWh), the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
Gotion High Tech plans to increase the plant’s capacity to 100 GWh, with eventual investment that could amount to USD 6.5 billion, the prime minister’s office said.
Morocco’s geographic location close to Europe, its free trade agreements with key EU and U.S. markets and its existing automotive industry make it attractive to Chinese EV battery makers.
In May, Chinese auto battery manufacturers Hailiang and Shinzoom announced plans to set up two separate plants near Tangier, that would produce key EV battery ingredients: copper and anodes respectively.
A month earlier, the Moroccan government gave the green light for Chinese electric battery maker BTR New Material Group to build a factory near Tangier to produce key component cathodes.
Another Chinese manufacturer, CNGR Advanced Material , is expected to build a cathode plant in Jorf Lasfar, 100 km (62 miles) south of Casablanca, where the government has allocated 283 hectares to electric battery industries.
The automotive sector topped Morocco’s industrial exports at USD 14 billion in 2023, up 27% on the previous year.
Morocco is home to production plants of automakers Stellantis and Renault with an annual combined production capacity of 700,000 cars as well as a cluster of local suppliers.
