Chinese battery manufacturers have been aggressively adding production capacity outside their home country in recent years as they want to take advantage of the global trend of vehicle electrification. On November 3, CALB announced that it has inked a memorandum of understanding (non-binding letter of intent) with Global Parques for the establishment of a battery manufacturing operation in Portugal. It will be CALB’s first battery manufacturing operation in Europe. According to the memorandum, CALB will acquire rights to the land around the Port of Sines (the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone) so as to build a zero-carbon battery manufacturing base.
Global Parques is a subsidiary of AICEP or the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade. Global Parques aims to attract foreign investments to Portugal by offering solutions for business locations, company registration, procurement activities, etc. It also manages industrial parks, sets up infrastructure, and transfers or leases space to commercial and non-commercial entities. On the whole, Global Parques encourages foreign investments by providing various direct and indirect services to international clients.
The Port of Sines is one of Europe’s major logistics hub as it is the region’s second largest deep-water port. It is also one of the few ports bordering the Atlantic Ocean capable of receiving the largest of container ships and has terminals for fossil fuels and a wide range of goods. Additionally, the Port of Sines is the largest railway freight platform in Portugal. More than 5,000 container trains make trips between the port and their respective locations in inland Europe every year. Hence, CALB’s new battery manufacturing base will be able to benefit significantly from the geographical advantages that this location has to offer.
Listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, CALB is currently seeking access to foreign capital and starting a new chapter in the internationalization of its business operations. The landing of its European battery manufacturing operation in Portugal is thus a huge step forward as the company accelerates its global expansion.
CALB currently has seven battery manufacturing bases across China. They are respectively located in the following provinces: Jiangsu (i.e., Changzhou), Henan (i.e., Luoyang), Fujian (i.e., Xiamen), Hubei (i.e., Wuhan), Guangdong (i.e., Guangzhou and Jiangmen), Sichuan (i.e., Chengdu and Meishan), Anhui (i.e., Hefei), and Heilongjiang. CALB also has more than 410GWh of production capacity in the planning phase. Once the overseas manufacturing base in Portugal is up and running, CALB’s will be able to release a considerable amount of new production capacity.
CALB’s major domestic clients are Changan Automobile, GAC Group, and XPENG. Regarding its major overseas clients, CALB has signed battery supply deals with Honda and Mercedes-Benz. Its first European manufacturing base will likely ship the batteries used in the BEVs under Mercedes-Benz Smart. With its IPO that took place this October and the landing of its European manufacturing base in Portugal, CALB is expected to gain pace in its global expansion.
Besides CALB, many other Chinese battery manufacturers have also announced huge plans to set up overseas production sites. They include CATL, Envision AESC, Gotion High-Tech, Farasis Energy, BYD, and SVOLT.
This article is a translation of a Chinese article posted by TrendForce. It contains information that is either sourced from other news outlets or accessible in the public domain. Some Chinese names are transcribed into English using Hanyu Pinyin.