The maker of Jeep, Fiat, and Peugeot vehicles will build a battery plant in Spain in collaboration with a Chinese battery producer, company officials announced.
Stellantis and CATL said their new joint venture would invest approximately $4.3 billion in the factory in Zaragoza, which would begin making lithium iron phosphate batteries in 2026. Officials said the facility could have a capacity of up to 50 gigawatt-hours.
Factory to Join CATL’s Other European Plants
The companies originally announced an agreement to collaborate on batteries to supply Europe’s electric vehicle sector late last year.
CATL already operates two battery plants in Europe: one in Hungary and the other in Germany.
Closing the Gap with China
The Spanish plant announcement, the Associated Press reported, comes as European policymakers aim to bolster the region’s electric vehicle numbers and close its manufacturers’ gap with China’s EV makers.
The European Union has imposed tariffs on Chinese EV imports to, in part, prompt Chinese companies to set up operations in Europe. It has also restricted the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines after the middle of the next decade.
"Completely Carbon Neutral”
Stellantis officials said that the Zaragoza plant would be “completely carbon neutral;” the Associated Press also noted that Spain produces significant quantities of renewable power from water, wind, and solar sources.
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