The deal is the first major investment in a European startup by a top Chinese global battery maker, with an initial focus on Central and Eastern Europe as well as Morocco.
(Image credit: InoBat)
Chinese lithium battery giant Gotion High-tech has acquired a 25 percent stake in European battery maker InoBat AS, after the two signed a memorandum of cooperation earlier in the year.
InoBat announced the deal in a September 1 press release, saying it paves the way for research and development and a giga-scale localized battery value chain for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
InoBat is a Slovakian battery company incorporated in Norway that offers customized, high-performance NMC batteries through its proprietary C2C circular value chain development platform, according to its press release.
The deal is the first major investment in a European startup by a top-tier Chinese global battery maker, with an initial focus on Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Morocco, to create green battery materials.
Gotion has invested significant capital and technical support to ensure InoBat's success on the Gotion-InoBat-Batteries (GIB) framework, according to the release.
The GIB will leverage the potential of Europe and its EMEA neighbors to provide a localized, net-zero closed-loop circular battery value chain and energy storage solutions for electric vehicles, InoBat said.
On February 5, Gotion and InoBat signed a memorandum of understanding in Hefei, Anhui province, where the former is headquartered, to explore opportunities for collaboration, including building a plant in Europe, according to a press release from the Chinese battery maker at the time.
In the area of cell manufacturing, the two companies will explore a joint venture to build a 40 GWh cell and pack plant. In terms of technology cooperation, the two will work together based on their respective accumulations in lithium iron phosphate and ternary batteries, the previous press release said.
The two companies will explore the potential for energy storage battery production based on InoBat's existing plant in Slovakia, with a view to opening up the European market as soon as possible, Gotion said at the time.
The partnership will accelerate Gotion's goal of having 100 GWh of battery production capacity overseas by 2025, fueling the company's internationalization, according to the Gotion press release in February.
Gotion is one of the world's largest power battery makers, ranking ninth globally with a 2.1 percent share from January to June, according to data released August 3 by South Korean market researcher SNE Research.
In China, Gotion ranked fifth with a 3.89 percent share in July with an installed base of 1.25 GWh, according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).
VW-backed battery maker Gotion sees Q2 profit up 76.52% from Q1
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