Chinese battery minerals producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt is mulling a MAD 200 bn (c. USD 20 bn) electric vehicle battery plant in Morocco, Hespress reported on Wednesday, citing a regional investment center official.

What we know: The facility, which would be located in Laayoune Sakia El Hamra in the Western Sahara, would have a production capacity sufficient to meet 30% of the demand in EV batteries by local, European and US markets, Director-General of the Regional Investment Centre of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region Mohamed Jifer told Hespress. This would roughly mean batteries supplied to over 6 mn electric vehicles by 2030, Jifer added.

We already know Morocco is getting a gigafactory from the Chinese: Morocco signed an MoU with Chinese battery maker Gotion High Tech in June to build a roadmap for setting up a gigafactory for EV batteries and energy storage systems. Under the agreement, Gotion High-Tech will set up a “gigafactory” with investments estimated at MAD 65 bn (c. USD 6.4 bn) in Bouknadel. The facility, which will be the first of its kind in Africa, will have a production capacity of 100 GWh and will create 25k jobs.

REMEMBER- Morocco has transformed itself into a regional automotive powerhouse through smart incentives and consistent government policy, and it is now a key exporter to Europe as well as to other MENA countries, including Egypt. It has put together a comprehensive agenda including developing a national master plan for electric mobility, designating zones where fossil-fuel cars are banned, giving tax exemptions on EVs, and developing the infrastructure through an iSmart charging station. Morocco is targeting the production of around 1 mn EVs in the next three to four years, according to statements by officials last year.