Spanish business community welcomes new Stellantis, CATL battery plant

BARCELONA, Spain, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish business community has welcomed last week's announcement that multinational auto company Stellantis and Chinese battery producer CATL have teamed up to build a 4.1-billion-euro (4.3 billion U.S. dollars) battery plant in northeast Spain.

Stellantis and CATL aim to have the new plant up and running by the end of 2026, and the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant will be in Zaragoza in the region of Aragon.

"This investment will consolidate a main sector of the Aragon economy, which is the automotive sector ... the reaction has been very, very positive," Jose Miguel Sanchez, managing director of the Zaragoza Chamber of Commerce, told Xinhua on Monday.

The automotive industry in Aragon already employs 35,000 people, some 4,500 of which correspond to Stellantis' existing Figueruelas plant in Zaragoza. It is estimated that the new plant could create up to 3,000 more jobs.

"It will have an impact on the GDP of Aragon that we estimate will be about a one and a half percent increase, while the impact on employment will also be very relevant, and then there will be the additional impact on consumption," Sanchez added.

Aragon's automotive industry currently accounts for 6 percent of the region's GDP, and for 30 percent of total industrial employment, according to the regional government.

Stellantis says the venture will boost the company's LFP credentials in Europe and allow it to make more high-quality and affordable battery electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, the chamber of commerce head said he hoped the joint venture would be "an initial step towards consolidating more investments in this sector from China," adding that it will have "a very significant impact" on the process of energy transition.

Regarding sustainability, the companies say that the new battery factory is designed to be completely carbon neutral, therefore contributing to the decarbonization of the transport sector and the promotion of electric mobility.