Volkswagen sees Morocco as a new battery hub for Europe

Morocco is emerging as a battery hub for Europe, whose electric car industry lacks a domestic battery supply chain. This comes as China has announced plans to establish a production base in Morocco, according to Sebastian Wolf, COO of Volkswagen's battery unit.

«We don't have any supply chain», Wolf said Tuesday as reported by Bloomberg. «Right now, we have to be honest that the set-up of the LFP supply chain is happening in Morocco and not in Europe».

Europe trails China significantly in battery technology and struggles to compete with government incentives offered by the US and Canada. Morocco, however, offers several advantages: rich phosphate resources, a key component of LFP batteries, proximity to Europe, and favorable trade agreements.

A Chinese battery component maker, CNGR, partnered with a Moroccan investment fund to build a major production facility in Jorf Lasfar. This multi-billion dollar project aims to start producing battery materials in 2025, potentially filling the supply chain gap for Europe's electric car industry.

Several other Chinese firms are also entering the Moroccan lithium-ion battery sector, including BTR New Material Group, which plans a factory in Tanger Tech, and Gotion High-Tech, which plans to build a «Gigafactory» for electric vehicle batteries in Kenitra.