Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech shareholders have approved plans for three joint ventures with Volkswagen Group battery subsidiary PowerCo in Spain, Slovakia and Morocco, involving combined investment of approximately €3.22 billion.
The approval, granted on October 20 and disclosed in Gotion’s third-quarter report on October 29, advances the partnership announced in September. Gotion and its subsidiaries will contribute about €1.60 billion, while PowerCo will invest approximately €1.62 billion.
The largest project is the Valencia facility near Sagunto, which will have annual cell production capacity of 29.1 GWh and total planned investment of €2.26 billion. PowerCo will retain a 51% controlling stake, with Gotion holding 49%. Volkswagen said its factory under construction will be transferred into the proposed JV and developed into a European production hub for its LFP-based Unified Cell platform.
Gotion will also take a major construction role in the project. Its wholly owned subsidiary Gotion Spain Green Energy plans to sign two engineering, procurement and construction contracts with PowerCo Spain, worth €295 million and €799 million, respectively. Shareholders also approved the combined €1.094 billion contracting proposal on October 20.
In Šurany, the partners plan an 8.4 GWh cell project costing approximately €480 million. Gotion will hold 51% and PowerCo 49%, with the existing factory project intended to transfer into the JV. Volkswagen said the facility will manufacture LFP cells for both electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems. The eventual allocation of production between automotive and stationary storage has not been disclosed.
The third venture, in Kenitra, will build 100,000 tonnes per year of LFP cathode active material capacity for around €480 million. Gotion will again own 51%. The material is intended primarily to supply the two European cell plants.
The Moroccan venture follows Gotion’s wider manufacturing investment in Kenitra, where, as ESS News reported in August, the company is developing an integrated LFP battery gigafactory. The PowerCo agreement establishes joint ownership and intended European customers for the cathode materials operation.
There has also been an update to the Moroccan cell factory’s startup schedule. In October, Gotion Power Morocco announced plans to begin commissioning production equipment during the week of October 20, according to local reporting. That schedule concerned the cell factory’s equipment, rather than a production start date for the PowerCo cathode venture. Commercial production has not been confirmed in the sources reviewed.
The agreement further deepens a relationship that began when Volkswagen invested in Gotion in 2020. In a separate transaction announced alongside the JV plan, Volkswagen agreed to sell a 5.3% stake in Gotion to Hefei Construction Investment. Volkswagen said it will remain a strategic investor and retain its board representation and other nomination rights.
Shareholder approval advances the projects, but does not establish that the transactions have closed. The September agreement also required regulatory clearances and customary closing conditions. Specific cell purchase volumes, supply guarantees and final commercial terms remain subject to later agreements.
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