Morocco Aims to Become Global Leader in Electric Vehicle Battery Production

The delimitation of maritime borders in the Canary Islands still divides Morocco and Spain, despite the latter’s recognition of the kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara. In order to become one of the world’s producers of electric batteries, Morocco intends to exploit the seabed of the archipelago, which is rich in the minerals necessary for the manufacture of batteries.

The South Korean firm LG Chem, specialized in the manufacture of batteries based on nickel, cobalt and manganese cathodes, which it supplies to manufacturers such as Ford, Chevrolet and Renault, has already announced the construction of a giant factory in Morocco, in partnership with the Chinese company Youshan, a subsidiary of the giant Huayou. A project that should mobilize an investment of 18 billion euros. The plant should be operational in 2026 and produce around 50,000 tons of lithium-based, phosphate and iron batteries per year, recalls El Dia.

The South Korean multinational also plans to install a lithium conversion plant in Morocco that should be operational in 2025 and produce some 52,000 tons of lithium per year. In addition to LG Chem and Youshan, the Chinese giant Gotion High Tech, one of the world leaders in batteries, is also preparing to invest 6 billion euros to set up a giant factory in Morocco, more precisely in the Laâyoune-Saguía el-Hamra region, in the Moroccan Sahara.

Morocco would seek to exploit the minerals of El Hierro, Echo, Drago and especially Tropic, which has the largest deposits. Pending the delimitation of the Moroccan-Spanish borders in the Canary Islands on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the kingdom is giving itself the means to produce electric vehicle batteries on a large scale.