China’s CATL has commenced the work on what is expected to become Spain’s largest battery manufacturing facility.
The €4.1bn ($4.8bn) project is being developed with automaker Stellantis in the northeastern region of Aragon.
Located in Figueruelas, a town of around 1,300 residents, the plant is scheduled to start production in late 2026.
The investment is supported by more than €300m in European Union funding.
Spain’s Industry Minister Jordi Hereu, as reported by Bloomberg, said: “We’re building the best investment model in Spain and in Europe.”
He called the factory in Figueruelas “the best contribution that Spain can make to the re-industrialisation of Europe”.
According to Reuters, local unions said roughly 2,000 Chinese workers will be involved in building the facility, with plans to employ and train about 3,000 Spanish workers once operations advance.
CAAR Aragon director general David Romeral said: “We don’t know this technology, these components – we’ve never made them before.
“They’re years ahead of us. All we can do is watch and learn.”
CAAR Aragon is a network of automotive companies in Aragon.
CATL has indicated that some Chinese engineers and managers are already on site in Figueruelas, with several hundred more expected by the end of this year and close to 2,000 by the end of next year.
UGT union Aragon secretary general Jose Juan Arceiz added: “They are the ones who know how to make a gigafactory.”
He added that unions were awaiting skill requirements from CATL in order to design training programmes with the local university.
Arceiz said: “As the plant ramps up, there will be more jobs for Spanish workers.
“This project needs to succeed, and everyone has to do their part.”
Spain, the second-largest vehicle producer in Europe, is seeking to build a position as a regional centre for battery manufacturing, helped by comparatively lower labour costs and industrial energy prices.
Alongside the CATL–Stellantis project, three further battery plants are planned in the country, involving Envision AESC, Volkswagen’s PowerCo and InoBat.
However, technological capabilities remain an obstacle.
Stellantis shipping manager Roque Ordovás Mangirón said: “Before it was mostly German technology, and now it’s Chinese. What difference does it make? Here in Spain, what we offered was always labour.”
The Aragon regional administration said it is processing work permits for incoming staff and is “working intensely” to attract additional parts of the battery supply chain to the area.
The project comes in a backdrop of European automotive industry bodies calling for tighter rules on local content in vehicle and battery production, in part to shield domestic manufacturers from Chinese competitors.
