China’s Tinci to Open Electric Vehicle Battery Plant in Morocco

Rabat – Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology, one of China’s leading manufacturers of materials for electric vehicle batteries, will open a plant in Morocco, announced the Chinese media outlet Yicai Global.

The construction of this future unit necessitates an investment of MAD 2.8 billion ($282,061 million).

Materials that this plant will produce will be used to supply the European market.

“Morocco has ample phosphorite ore resources. Building a plant in the North African country will also help the company to better serve and explore the European market,” Tinci said.

The company is simultaneously planning to open another plant in the US, in the state of Texas, with the aim to supply North American markets.

With an annual production capacity of 200,000 tonnes, this lithium battery electrolyte plant should be operational in thirty months’ time.

Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology is enjoying spectacular growth in the booming market for materials for electric batteries. The group achieved sales of $3.1 billion in 2022, more than double those of the fiscal year 2021.

Likewise, its net profit grew by around 160% to about $789.7 million in 2022. 93% of the entire revenue came from its lithium battery materials division.

However, Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology is not the first Chinese group to invest in the manufacture of materials for electric vehicle batteries in Morocco.

Last April, its compatriot Yahua Industrial Group signed an agreement with Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES), the world’s second largest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles, to produce lithium hydroxide at a plant in Morocco.

This joint venture will enable LGES to strengthen its supply chain for this material to serve the US market, a country connected by a free-trade agreement with Morocco.