Dutch lithium-ion battery producer Lithium Werks BV has signed a framework agreement to build a 60-hectare battery gigafactory in China’s Yangtze River Delta.
The agreement for the €1.6 billion (US$1.85bn) factory to produce cells for lithium-ion batteries was signed with the Zhejiang Jiashan Economic Development Zone Industry Corporation.
“With our Chinese partners’ help, and as we continue to grow both organically and through acquisitions, we will deliver the energy storage solutions that our customers increasingly ask for as the world transitions to clean energy,” said Lithium Werks chairman Kees Koolen (pictured centre).
The agreement, which was witnessed by Chinese premier Li Keqiang and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte— perhaps indicating the importance the two nations are placing on the deal— marks the first advancement in Lithium Werks’ 15-20 year plan to build multiple gigafactories worldwide.
Lithium Werks said demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to “grow tenfold in the next decade alone”, according to analysis by the Capgemini Research Institute.
Lithium Werks BV was formed following the recent merger of Lithium Werks with lithium-ion peer Super B.
