Dutch battery maker Lithium Werks BV is preparing to invest in the construction of a large lithium-ion battery plant in China with an investment of 1.6 billion euros (about 1.85 billion US dollars) to meet the growing demand for electric vehicle batteries. Lithium Werks and Chinese Zhejiang Jiashan Economic and Technological Development Zone Industry Corporation have signed a framework agreement to cooperate in the construction of a 60-hectare battery super factory in the Yangtze River Delta. The plant's annual production capacity will reach 8GWh, which is equivalent to the battery capacity of 160,000 electric vehicles.
The plant will be the company's second production base in China and is expected to begin production in early 2021. The company will provide 20% equity funds and the remaining funds will be raised from Chinese bank financing projects. Liesium Werks chairman Kees Koolen expects the company's revenue to reach $ 1 billion by 2020 and plans to operate 10 battery factories by 2025.
The deal was signed on October 16th local time as part of a broad partnership between the Netherlands and China. Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also announced other large deals at an event in The Hague.
China has become a global leader in the production and sales of electric vehicles (EVs), and it is still the world's largest electric vehicle market, with electric vehicle sales accounting for half of global sales. In 2017, China sold nearly 580,000 electric vehicles, an increase of 72% over the previous year.