On November 2, 2022, Chinese battery supplier CALB signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Portuguese government. According to memorandum, CALB will build a major manufacturing base in Portugal as part of its expansion in Europe. Recently, new and concrete progress has been made in the implementation of this project.
CALB has reportedly initiated the process of obtaining an environmental permit for the planned base, which is set to be located in the Portuguese city of Sines. According to the reporting by foreign media, CALB submitted a proposal that defies the scope of the environmental impact of the project to the relevant regulatory agencies at the end of this February.
CALB said it aims to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing base in the local industrial park of Sines. The base will accommodate five plants that will be charge of producing Li-ion battery cells, producing electrodes, producing battery casings, and assembling batteries (battery packages). Spanning an area of 100 hectares, the base is set to have a production capacity of 15GWh per year.
Known as the “first gateway to Europe”, the port of Sines is a major logistics hub in the region. Its deep water port is the second largest in Europe and operates 24/7. The port is also the only one in Portugal that can receive some of the world’s largest cargo ships and is connected to the country’s largest freight railway platform. More than 5,000 container trains travel to and from the port every year, thus highlighting its critical geographical advantage.
The permit application that CALB has filed for the project reveals that the construction of the base is expected to take around 30 months, and the base is scheduled to enter operation by the end of 2025. CALB said the base will meet the huge and growing demand for EV power batteries from the European automotive industry.
Established in 2007, CALB offers Li-ion EV power batteries, battery management systems, energy storage solutions, and materials used in Li-ion batteries. The company is able to engage in technological R&D, battery manufacturing, sales, and application development. On October 6, 2022, the company was formally listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and thus obtained access to international capital.
Regarding CALB’s overseas ventures, the company has recently entered into a supply agreement with Forsee, a well-known French brand for smart battery systems. Together, they will be providing Li-ion batteries that power buses, trucks, specialty vehicles, and even ships worldwide. Also, in July 2022, CALB reached a strategic cooperation agreement with BMZ Group that also specializes in technologies related to Li-ion batteries. Through BMZ, CALB will be able to introduce its innovative solutions to buses, trucks, agricultural machinery, construction machinery, and other kinds of commercial power systems. In sum, projects and deals such those mentioned above are enabling CALB to accelerate its global expansion.
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.