The Chinese flag was flying on Wednesday at the Stellantis Group’s factory facilities in Figueruelas (Zaragoza). A plant founded by Americans, specifically General Motors, which now includes brands such as Peugeot, Opel, Citroen or Fiat, is home to the largest Chinese industrial investment in Spain to build a battery factory that, when it reaches peak activity, will have a production capacity of 50 GWh (Volkswagen, in Sagunto, will initially reach 40 GWh – although it can be expanded to 60 GWh depending on demand) and will employ 4,000 people. For this, 4.1 billion euros will be invested, the vast majority of which (94% of the funds) will be provided by Contemporary Star Energy, the joint venture created by Stellantis and CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer. The giant factory is expected to begin producing battery cells late next year.
“It’s the most important day since I became president of Argonne,” said a beaming Jorge Azcun, who has made a habit of delivering good industry news of late, such as the $15.7 billion Amazon will invest in a network of data centers. The regional president highlighted that the new battery factory will occupy an area of 89 hectares, and in 2027, when the giant plant will not yet reach its maximum activity, it will represent more than 5% of Aragon’s GDP.
Azcon shared this event with the Minister of Industry, Jordi Herrio, with whom he expressed mutual words of gratitude for the completion of this project, which will receive $300 million in assistance from Berti Electric and Connected Vehicles.
“We are in a place and at a moment that has a historic dimension, it is the first stone of a first-level project, a Qatari project,” said Hirio, who also described today as the most important day since he assumed the position of minister two years ago. For his part, Azcon wanted to take advantage of the moment when Aragon received this billion-dollar investment in a sector in a sensitive situation in Europe. “In Aragon today, we are not just talking about livelihoods. When we see in other important cities that there are factories closing their doors (in Germany, for example, the Ford factory in Saarlouis, which made the Focus car, will be closed), we see how a factory is opening here that will disrupt the Figueruelas car factory and will change the economy of the region.”
The Chinese Ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing, also attended the event and confirmed that this is the largest Chinese investment in the country. Jing pointed out that “Spain will be an ally now and in the future,” in response to Hirrio’s words, who praised cooperation between the two countries.
“Thank you for betting on Spain, but this is a successful bet,” Herrio said, stressing that the country will continue to cooperate with China, with the aim of improving Europe’s strategic autonomy, but with an open and non-protectionist mindset: “I am a completely pro-European minister, but the European project will be stronger if it knows how to cooperate with countries like China.”
Thousands of Chinese employees
The arrival of this investment will also mean the arrival of thousands of qualified Chinese employees who will help build the battery factory that the company will implement. Joint venture Contemporary star energy. The CEO of this joint venture, Andy Wu, did not specify how many Chinese workers would arrive in Figueruelas, although he wanted to highlight that the goal was to generate “a significant amount of local employment.”
On the other hand, Stellantis highlighted that Figueruelas’ batteries, which will be of the LFP (lithium-phosphate) type, will make the group’s electric cars cheaper. LFP batteries, the same type that Volkswagen will manufacture in Sagunto, offer lower energy density than NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) batteries, but are significantly cheaper than the latter. In contrast, Stellantis spokespeople explained that since battery and vehicle factories are deployed “door-to-door,” very important synergies will be created to reduce vehicle prices, starting with logistics costs.