On June 6, the Moroccan government announced that Chinese battery company Gotion High-Tech is to set up Morocco’s first electric vehicle battery gigafactory for a total cost of 12.8 billion dirhams ($1.3 billion).

A statement from the office of the Prime Minister of Morocco reveals that the Moroccan government has signed an investment agreement for a superfactory with the Chinese company Gotion High-Tech. The plant will have an initial battery capacity of 20 gigawatts per hour (GWh). According to reports, the office of the Moroccan Prime Minister has indicated that Gotion High-Tech plans to increase the factory's capacity to 100GWh, eventually raising the total investment to $6.5 billion.

In the presence of Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, Gotion High-Tech Group President Li Zhen, alongside key government officials including the Minister of Interior, Minister of Economy and Finance, Minister of Equipment and Water Resources, Minister of Land Planning, Housing, and Urban Policy, Minister of Industry and Trade, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, and the Director-General of the Investment Development Agency, jointly signed this strategic investment agreement.

It is worth noting that Morocco, located adjacent to Europe and having signed free trade agreements with both the European Union and the United States, provides a favorable condition for companies aiming to enter major new energy markets such as Europe and the United States.

According to reports, Morocco has now established its domestic automotive and renewable energy industries, along with industry chain related to raw materials such as cobalt and phosphate. Moroccan officials had previously positioned the country as an ideal location for setting up electric vehicle battery factories.

Additionally, both Renault and Stellantis have previously established factories in Morocco, with a combined annual production capacity of 700,000 vehicles, targeting both the domestic and global markets. Furthermore, Morocco is home to over 250 automotive manufacturers and component suppliers, collectively forming the country's automotive ecosystem.

In fact, Morocco has been contemplating entry into the electric battery industry for quite some time. As early as July 2022, Ryad Mezzour, the Minister of Industry and Trade of Morocco, expressed to Reuters during the U.S.-Africa Business Summit, "We hope to sign agreements for a battery gigaactory before the end of this year, providing a significant boost to the local automotive industry."

He further noted that Morocco's leading automotive infrastructure supports electric vehicle battery manufacturers, while in recent years, the production of local pure electric and hybrid vehicles has been steadily increasing, creating demand for domestic battery manufacturing. Morocco's aim is to increase the proportion of locally manufactured automotive components for export from 65% to 80%, with electric batteries being a crucial component in this endeavor.