China’s Calb announces the European battery plant in Portugal
The Chinese lithium battery manufacturer Calb announced on Monday plans to build his first European factory in Portugal, an investment of two billion euros ($ 2.1 billion) that hopes it will help to crack the electric car market from the continent.
Calb said that this year it would break site at the factory in Sines, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Lisbon, of which it expects to deliver the European market by 2027 and be fully operational in 2028.
“We have chosen Portugal to establish our European Gigafactory because of the strategic benefits,” said the chair of the company’s board, Liu Jingyu, an event in Lisbon to present the project.
Portugal has some of the world’s largest reserves of lithium, an important ingredient in the batteries that feed electric cars: an estimated 60,000 tons, according to the US Geological Survey.
Portuguese economy Minister Pedro Reis called the announcement a “victory for Portugal”.
Calb said in a statement that it wanted to strengthen its presence on the European electric car and energy storage markets.
The company hopes to immediately create around 1,800 jobs with the factory, which will have an energy storage capacity of 15 gigawatt hours, it said.
