(Yicai) Nov. 14 -- Gotion High-Tech has secured EUR300 million (USD316.4 million) worth of investment from Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion, the biggest public financial investment body in Morocco, which will go towards the construction of the first super-sized factory for electric car batteries in the North African country, the Chinese battery giant said today.

CDG has agreed to invest EUR300 million to support the building of Gotion’s Moroccan battery plant, said Gotion, which is owned by German auto manufacturer Volkswagen, citing the memorandum of understanding penned yesterday by the two parties.

Gotion will bring advanced battery production equipment, technologies and management to Morocco, and will work with Rabat-based CDG to build the mega factory into a benchmark project of local energy transition, President Li Zhen said at the signing ceremony.

The first phase, which is costing USD1.3 billion, will produce 20 gigawatt hours of electric car and energy storage batteries a year and create over 2,000 local jobs, the Hefei-based company said. There will also be ancillary facilities for cathode and anode materials.

Previous reports have said that the factory will eventually reach a production scale of 100 GWh of batteries a year and require a total investment of USD6.5 billion.

Morocco, which has tariff-free access to the US and the EU, is proving extremely attractive to companies in the EV industrial chain, especially those from China. The country also boasts a relatively complete infrastructure, rich battery mineral resources and a strong auto industry foundation.

Editor: Kim Taylor