Morocco Emerges as Key Player in Global EV Battery Production with $700M Chinese Investment

The Chinese company BTR, a subsidiary of China Bao’an Group and a supplier to Tesla, announced in December last year an investment of $490 million in a new cathode production plant in Morocco. The mega-plant, which will be located in Tanger Tech, will have a capacity of 50,000 tons of lithium-ion battery cathodes per year, or a quarter of European capacity, announced Benchmark Intelligence, the London-based specialized information agency.

Several Chinese giants such as Huayou Cobalt, CNGR and Tinci have announced investments in Morocco last year. This increase in foreign investment in Morocco is justified by the free trade agreements signed with the United States and Europe, and the natural resources such as phosphate that abound in the kingdom. Morocco holds phosphate reserves of 50 billion tons, or 71% of the world total, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.