Philippine Marcos opens first EV battery factory
President Ferdinand Marcos on Monday inaugurated the Philippines’ first electric vehicle battery factory, calling it the “future” of clean energy.
The Australian-owned lithium iron phosphate plant aims to produce two gigawatt hours of batteries per year by 2030, capable of powering about 18,000 electric vehicles or nearly half a million home battery systems.
“We have worked very hard and done our best to bring this kind of technology to the Philippines, with the clear recognition that this is the future,” Marcos said in a livestreamed speech.
“As the first factory in the Philippines for advanced iron phosphate batteries… this sets the stage for the Philippines to become a player in clean energy storage in our part of the world.”
The StB Giga Factory Inc. facility, located in the city of New Clark, north of Manila, will create 2,500 local jobs and funnel five billion pesos ($89.2 million) into the economy every year, Marcos said.
The investment is in line with the government’s efforts to “transition our country to renewable energy” and would help Manila “attract more investors in renewable energy facilities in the country,” he added.
