Over six months after detailing plans for a new 20 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery plant in Europe, China’s Gotion High-Tech has shared precisely where it will set up shop overseas – Morocco.
Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd. is a China-based company that specializes in battery R&D and energy solutions. With backing from notable OEMs like Volkswagen Group (its largest shareholder), Gotion has begun expanding battery production to new territories around the world. This includes Vietnam via a joint venture with VinES, the energy division of VinFast.
In September 2023, Gotion rolled a battery off an assembly line in the university town of Göttingen, Germany – its first product assembled in Europe. Around that same time, Gotion High-Tech announced it had also purchased a 25% stake in the Slovak EV battery startup InoBat – the first investment in a European startup by any Chinese battery maker.
At the time, Gotion said it would provide InoBat with raw materials plus share its R&D, cell production, and battery recycling know-how to help expedite the former’s technology into mass production. Furthermore, the two companies announced a potential joint venture to expand EV battery production in Europe with a new 20 GWh plant to support local automakers.
We just didn’t know where it would be.
Seven months later, the local government has revealed where Gotion High-Tech’s first European battery factory will be erected – Morocco.
Gotion shares plans for $1.3 billion plant in Morocco
Per a report by Reuters, the Moroccan government has confirmed that Gotion high-Tech’s new European factory is coming to the region for an estimated price of 12.8 billion Moroccan dirhams ($1.3 billion).
A press release from the country’s prime minister said that Gotion has signed an investment deal with the Moroccan government to erect the battery gigafactory. The gigafactory is expected to operate with an initial battery capacity of 20 GWh.
The prime minister’s office also said that Gotion’s incoming plant in Morocco could also be expanded to a massive 100 GWh annual battery capacity, equating to a total investment of about $6.5 billion.
Due to its proximity to prominent European automotive markets and free trade agreements with the EU and the US, Morocco is quickly becoming a hub for EV technology manufacturing. Gotion is the latest big name to join the fold.
Chinese battery manufacturers like BTR New Material Group, CNGR Advanced Material, Hailiang, and Shinzoom have all announced plans for factory footprints in Morocco, which is already home to production plants for Stellantis and Renault. As a result, the automotive sector was Morocco’s top industrial export ($14 billion) in 2023, up 27% year over year.
Since the news came from the prime minister’s office in Morocco, we still need to get all the details from Gotion High-Tech. So far, the news has yet to mention InoBat and whether it is involved in the EU expansion. We hope to learn more and get a better timeline for when Gotion is targeting to begin rolling EV battery cells off its assembly lines at its new gigafactory.
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