China’s CALB to make historic investment in batteries factory in Sines

The Chinese company CALB has confirmed that it will invest €2Bn in Portugal to build a new lithium battery factory at Sines.

The launch of the project took place today (Monday) in Lisbon and was attended by the President of the Board of CALB, Liu Jingyu and Portugal’s Minister of the Economy, Pedro Reis.

In a statement, the Chinese manufacturer called it “a historic investment for the green economy in Portugal”.

The project is categorised as a Project of National Interest by the Portuguese government and will have a significant impact on the Portuguese economy of 4% of the country’s GDP when in maximum production capacity.

With this investment, CALB aims to strengthen its presence in the European market for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. “We are excited to bring this great project to Sines, contributing to the future of green energy in Portugal and supporting the transition of the European automotive sector to electric vehicles.

Our factory will not only create new jobs, but will also place Portugal at the forefront of the production of batteries for electric vehicles in Europe,” said Liu Jingyu, chairman of the Board of Directors of CALB.

Once operational, the plant will have a production capacity of 15 GWh of energy storage. CALB anticipates the plant to be fully operational in 2028, with construction scheduled to begin in 2025.