(Yicai) Nov 19 -- Chinese battery makers, including Svolt Energy Technology and Farasis Energy, are reportedly looking again at their plans for factories in Europe and the United States as a result of policy and supply chain challenges.

The construction of Farasis' production bases in Germany and the US is suspended, and only the Turkish factory is operational, Securities Times reported today, citing Chairman Wang Yu, speaking at a forum. The Ganzhou-based company's plant in northwestern Turkey has yet to reach the break-even point.

The challenges abroad are linked to policies and regulations, cultural differences, supply chain guarantees, and customer needs, Wang said, adding that for example, transferring land use rights require multiple links including local government approval and parliamentary hearings. One project took Farasis three years to navigate these hurdles. By comparison, in China, it typically takes no more than 18 months to move a lithium battery factory from initial approval to full production.

Farasis was among the pioneers of overseas expansion by Chinese lithium battery companies. In 2018, it unveiled plans to build three factories in Germany, the US, and Turkey, each with a 10-gigawatt-hour annual production capacity.

Other industry players are facing similar challenges. Last month, Svolt Energy Technology, headquartered in Changzhou, announced it would terminate operations at its European unit, shelving plans to build two battery factories in Germany.

Meanwhile, Rept Battero Energy Chairman Cao Hui stated to multiple media outlets that the company would focus on building its first overseas production base in Southeast Asia. “We aim to construct the SE Asian base quickly, start operations, achieve profitability as soon as possible, and then move on to the next project,” Cao said.

Editor: Emmi Laine