More than six months after detailing plans to build a new 20 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery factory in Europe, China’s Guoxuan High-Tech has now revealed details of where it will set up its overseas factory: Morocco.
Gochon Hi-Tech Co., Ltd. is a Chinese company specializing in battery research and development and energy solutions. With the backing of prominent OEMs such as the Volkswagen Group (its largest shareholder), Gochon has begun expanding its battery production to new regions around the world, including Vietnam through a joint venture with VinES, the energy division of VinFast.
In September 2023, Goshon rolled batteries off an assembly line in the German university city of Göttingen, the company’s first product assembled in Europe. Around the same time, Goshon Hi-Tech also announced it had bought a 25% stake in Slovakian EV battery startup Innovat, the first investment by a Chinese battery maker in a European startup.
At the time, Guozhan said it would provide Innovat with raw materials and share know-how in research and development, cell production and battery recycling to help bring Innovat’s technology to mass production. The two companies also announced a possible joint venture to build a new 20GWh factory to expand EV battery production in Europe and support local automakers.
I just didn’t know where it was.
Seven months later, local authorities revealed the site in Morocco where Gochon Hi-Tech’s first battery factory in Europe will be built.
Gotion announces plans to build $1.3 billion factory in Morocco
According to one report ReutersThe Moroccan government has confirmed that Gotion Hitech’s new European factory will be built in the region at an estimated cost of 12.8 billion Moroccan dirhams ($1.3 billion).
According to a press release from the country’s prime minister, Gotion signed an investment agreement with the Moroccan government to build a battery gigafactory, which will initially operate with a battery capacity of 20GWh.
The prime minister’s office also said that the factory that Gotion is building in Morocco could also be expanded to a larger battery production capacity of 100GWh per year, with a total investment worth around $6.5 billion.
Morocco is fast becoming a manufacturing hub for EV technology thanks to its proximity to major European auto markets and free trade agreements with the EU and the US, and Gotion is the latest major player to join the fray.
Chinese battery makers, including BTR New Materials Group, CNGR Advanced Materials, Hailian and Synzoom, have announced plans to build factories in Morocco, where Stellantis and Renault already have production plants. As a result, the automotive sector will be Morocco’s largest industrial export ($14 billion) in 2023, up 27% from the previous year.
As this news comes from the Moroccan Prime Minister’s Office, we will have to get all the details from Gochon Hi-Tech. So far the news has not yet mentioned Innovat or if the company is involved in EU enlargement. We hope to get more details and a more precise timeline on when Gochon plans to start producing EV battery cells at its new Gigafactory.
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