BAODING -- A Chinese battery maker carved out of the country's biggest SUV manufacturer, Great Wall Motor Co., is planning its first overseas manufacturing base in Europe.
SVOLT Energy Technology Co., which became independent in 2018, also said it is making "good progress" on developing a cobalt-free lithium ion battery -- a goal of battery producers aiming to eliminate the pricey and increasingly scarce mineral.
"We plan to have five production bases worldwide, including in the United States, but it will take time," SVOLT General Manager Yang Hongxin said at an event here. "The global plan is to reach a capacity of 100 GWh by 2025."
The move comes as Asian battery makers deepen cooperation with automakers in Europe, where limited resources to make the cells that power electric vehicles has raised concern of over-reliance on Asian manufacturers.
Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. is building a 14 GWh production site in Germany and will supply batteries to BMW Group.
CATL was identified as a strategic partner by Volkswagen Group when the German automaker said it will buy 50 billion euros ($56.05 billion) worth of cells. Volkswagen also named South Korea's SK Innovation Co., LG Chem and Samsung SDI Co., as well as Sweden's Northvolt.
SVOLT plans to build a base in an as yet undecided European country, featuring a research center and factories for battery materials, cells and modules with initial capacity of 20 GWh, its general manager, Yang, told Reuters in an interview.
Investment will be around 2 billion euros ($2.24 billion), Yang said. As part of the plan, SVOLT aims to seek about 1 billion yuan ($145.34 million) in its next round of fundraising this year. It will raise more funds to support construction which begins in the second half of next year, with production starting in 2022.
Production capacity will be around 24 GWh by 2025, senior SVOLT official Cao Fubiao said in the interview. The plant's first customer will likely be Great Wall Motor, and SVOLT is in talks to supply "German and French car manufacturers," Cao said, declining to identify the automakers.
Great Wall has previously said it would form a new-energy vehicle joint venture with BMW.
The European plant would add to SVOLT's first factory under construction in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. The Chinese plant will have initial capacity of 12 GWh, and will eventually exceed 70 GWh.
