Chinese battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner Gotion High-Tech has reached an agreement with Morocco to look into establishing a 100 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery facility in what could be the company’s largest by targeted capacity, and Africa’s first gigafactory. 

In a release on May 31, the Moroccan government said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gotion for setting up an “integrated industrial ecosystem” for the production of batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems. The estimated investment could reach up to Dh65bn ($6.4bn) and create 25,000 jobs over 10 years, according to Morocco’s ministry of investment, convergence and evaluation of public policies (MICEPP).

“Gotion is pleased to be working with Morocco on this project to contribute to decarbonisation and the deployment of innovative energy solutions,” said Li Zhen, the chairman of Gotion High-Tech, in a statement. 

No details have been given to the final investment decision or construction timeline for the project. A spokesperson for Gotion declined to comment on their MoU with Morocco. However, should the full $6.4bn capital pledge be realised, this would be the second-largest foreign direct investment (FDI) project ever announced in Morocco, according to greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets. That is behind Total Eren’s planned Dh100bn hydrogen and green ammonia project announced last year.

The Gotion plant's 100GWh capacity would also be one of only 13 facilities of this scale out of 392 gigafactories tracked globally by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, an EV supply chain information provider.

 “Achieving such a capacity would not only significantly bolster Gotion’s growing presence in the global market, but also place Morocco among the ranks of the top cell producing nations,” says Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, who notes this would establish Morocco’s status as an EV hub within north Africa.

Moroccan officials have tried to attract FDI in the EV supply chain by underlining the existing presence of major automakers, including Renault and Stellantis, their suppliers and the availability of relatively cheap renewable energy. Mohcine Jazouli, Morocco’s delegate minister who heads MICEPP, said that the MoU with Gotion was the first step towards an investment agreement for the gigafactory, which will strengthen the country’s presence “as a leading player in the automotive industry”.

Mr Hartley notes that while cheaper operating costs in Morocco may have been a draw for Gotion, it may face challenges in sourcing a sufficiently skilled workforce in the country: “One roadblock many established producers face when expanding globally is a smaller skilled labour pool than is available domestically, and the subsequent need to train and develop workers on site.”

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Gotion’s intent to build a plant in Morocco — which could increase its pipeline battery cell manufacturing capacity by 33.2% by the end of the decade – is part of a wider trend of Chinese battery cell producers investing heavily into European and North American markets. The US state of Michigan approved a separate Gotion investment last October, which will see the company invest $2.3bn into a battery component facility.

Plans by Chinese companies abroad coincide with intense research and development efforts focused on new battery chemistries, which aim to improve safety, increase the range of EVs and reduce reliance on battery-grade minerals which are in high demand. 

In May 2023, Gotion unveiled a new lithium-iron-manganese-phosphate battery, which it claims can reach a 1000km range without relying on nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC), one of the two most commonly used lithium-ion battery chemistry combinations alongside lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

“Morocco has manganese resources and is one of the biggest phosphate producers in the world. That by itself would make the country attractive to gigafactories,” says Magnus Bekker, the founder of Giga-Manganese, a market intelligence company specialised on the manganese used in energy storage systems. He continues that there are “huge opportunities” for companies in Morocco and other African countries with batteries materials to serve the demand from Chinese cell makers.