Morocco to Produce 100,000 Tonnes of LFP Cathode Material Annually for Europe’s EV Battery Market
Morocco is set to host a major lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery materials facility as part of a €3.22 billion (US$3.7 billion) investment programme by Volkswagen Group, its battery subsidiary PowerCo and Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech.
The planned facility in Kenitra will produce up to 100,000 tonnes of LFP cathode material annually, supplying battery-cell plants planned in Spain and Slovakia.
The Kenitra joint venture is expected to receive about €480 million (US$530 million) in investment. Gotion will hold a 51% stake, while PowerCo will own 49%.
The project will place Morocco further upstream in Europe’s electric-vehicle supply chain, with locally produced cathode material feeding battery manufacturing operations in Europe.
The planned battery plants in Valencia, Spain, and Šurany, Slovakia, will have combined annual production capacity of 37.5 GWh, comprising 29.1 GWh and 8.4 GWh respectively.
Volkswagen expects LFP batteries to increase their share of the European battery market from about 10% currently to between 40% and 60% by 2030. Europe currently has limited LFP production capacity.
Morocco’s proximity to Europe, established automotive manufacturing base and renewable-energy development have helped strengthen its position as a manufacturing and supply-chain hub for European markets.
The partnership also builds on an existing relationship between Volkswagen and Gotion, which dates back to 2020.
Volkswagen remains a significant shareholder in Gotion, although it has agreed to sell a 5.3% stake in the Chinese battery producer.
The Kenitra project is expected to strengthen Morocco’s role in the battery value chain by expanding its contribution from vehicle and component manufacturing into the production of materials required for electric-vehicle batteries.
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