The Morocco Agency for Investments and Exports announced on June 1 that the Moroccan government and Gotion High-Tech have signed a MoU for investigation of the possibility of building a major base in the country for the manufacturing of NEV power batteries. Specifically, Gotion High-Tech could invest as much as USD 6.3 billion (CNY 44.7 billion) to set up 100GWh per year of local production capacity for NEV power batteries.
Morocco is widely known for being a major producer of phosphates because it has the most phosphorous-related resources in the world. The country currently account for around two-thirds of the world’s phosphorous reserve. It the third-largest producer and top exporter of phosphorous ores. Additionally, Morocco is the only African country that has entered into an FTA with the US. It is also a free trade partner with the EU. Therefore, the exportation of goods from Morocco will not affected by certain trade regulations under the IRA, CRMA, etc.
Also, there are approximately 250 companies involved in car manufacturing and automotive components operating in Morocco. Renowned car manufacturers such as Renault and Stellantis have already set up shops in the country with a combined production capacity of 700,000 vehicles per year. Moreover, e-GT New Energy Automotive, which is now Gotion High-Tech’s client, was officially a partner of the EV alliance of Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi in February of this year.
On February 1 of this year, Gotion High-Tech announced via its WeChat account that e-GT’s light electric SUV Nano BOX will be equipped with its LFP batteries. Established by Dongfeng Motor Corporation in 2017, e-GT is actually a joint venture with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. In 2021, Gotion High-Tech’s products formally passed the alliance’s qualification process.
Gotion High-Tech currently has six major bases around the world for the manufacturing of battery materials. They are respectively located in Lujiang (China’s Anhui Province), Feidong (Anhui), Yichun (China’s Jiangxi Province), Wuhai (China’s Inner Mongolia Region), Huillapima (Argentina), and the US state of Michigan. The last two bases are still in the preliminary development and financing phase.
The Lujiang base is used to develop and manufacture LFP cathode materials and ternary cathode materials. The Feidong base focuses on battery materials as well as the recycling and cascade utilization of decommissioned batteries. The Wuhai base is used to manufacture anode materials. The bases in Yichun and Huillapima are purposed for outputting upstream raw materials including mineral ores and lithium carbonate. Lastly, the base in Michigan is set to manufacture cathode and anode materials.
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.