Why Chinese Battery Makers Are Setting Up in Morocco

At a glance

Gotion High-Tech's Kenitra gigafactory: a first phase of about MAD 13 billion ($1.3 billion). Construction began in September 2025, equipment commissioning in the week of 20 October 2026, and sales are planned before the end of 2026.
In September 2026 Gotion and Volkswagen's PowerCo announced a €480 million joint venture in Kenitra to make 100,000 tonnes a year of LFP cathode material.
COBCO, a CNGR and Al Mada joint venture, is a MAD 20 billion ($2 billion) materials complex on more than 238 hectares at Jorf Lasfar. Its first phase started up in June 2025.
Morocco holds about 50 billion tonnes of phosphate rock reserves, roughly 68% of the world total (USGS, 2026), and built about 500,000 vehicles in 2025.
About 80% of the raw materials for Gotion's Moroccan plant are expected to come from China, which creates demand for logistics, maintenance and support services.

In three years, Chinese companies have announced projects covering most of the lithium-ion battery chain in Morocco: cells, cathode precursors, cathodes, anodes, electrolyte and copper foil.

The projects cluster in three places: Kenitra, north of Rabat; Jorf Lasfar on the Atlantic coast; and Mohammed VI Tanger Tech in the north. Anyone who has watched a Chinese industrial park grow will recognise the pattern. Anchor plants arrive first, and a ring of smaller suppliers and service firms follows.

Autumn 2026 marks a turning point. Gotion began commissioning, its Volkswagen joint venture was announced and its African Development Bank loan was approved. The sector is moving from signing ceremonies to shipping product.

The projects, and where they stand

Company	Location	Investment	Product and scale	Status
Gotion High-Tech	Atlantic Free Zone, Kenitra	~$1.3bn (phase 1)	LFP cells, 20 GWh in phase 1	Commissioning from Oct 2026
Gotion–PowerCo JV	Kenitra	~€480m	100,000 t/year LFP cathode	Board-approved Sept 2026; agreement unsigned
CNGR (COBCO JV with Al Mada)	Jorf Lasfar	~$2bn	NMC precursors, LFP cathodes, recycling; 70 GWh-equivalent target	Phase 1 running since June 2025
BTR New Material	Tanger Tech	~$750m	25,000 t cathode to start, 60,000 t anode	Under construction
Tinci Materials	Jorf Lasfar	MAD 2.6bn (~$282m)	150,000 t/year electrolyte and materials	Agreement signed June 2025
Hailiang	Tanger Tech	~$288m	Includes 25,000 t battery foil	Announced May 2024, ~36-month build

COBCO. According to maroc.ma, the complex targets 120,000 tonnes a year of NMC precursors, 60,000 tonnes of LFP cathodes and 30,000 tonnes of black-mass recycling, equal to materials for about 70 GWh of batteries a year. Construction created more than 5,000 jobs, and 1,800 direct plus 1,800 indirect jobs are planned. The company aims for 80% green power in 2025 and 100% by the end of 2026, and uses desalinated water. It has a long-term supply deal with Belgium's Umicore (African Business).

BTR. Hespress (May 2025) reported that the two plants cover 486,000 m², with cathode capacity starting at 25,000 tonnes and later doubling to 50,000, plus 60,000 tonnes of anode. BTR expects about $1.2 billion a year in revenue, mostly from exports. Le360 put total investment above MAD 6 billion and job creation at more than 1,100. An AIIB document dated October 2026 still lists a $65.15 million loan for the anode plant as proposed.

Tinci, Hailiang and Shinzoom. Tinci has five years from its agreement to reach agreed output (Yicai Global). Hailiang's numbers come from its Shenzhen exchange filing (Morocco World News). Shinzoom announced a $460 million anode plant at Tanger Tech in May 2024 (Asharq Al-Awsat). We found no reliable recent update on these three.

Case study: how Gotion's Kenitra plant came together

Gotion is the bellwether, and its timeline is a useful guide for anyone planning to follow.

Date	Milestone
Sept 2025	Construction begins
End 2025	About RMB 629 million spent, 7% of the planned phase-one budget
24 July 2026	AfDB approves a €100 million loan and plans to raise up to €141 million more from partners
Aug 2026	Press reports a government decree releasing about 23.88 hectares of state land for a rail spur
28 Sept 2026	Gotion, Volkswagen and PowerCo announce the Kenitra cathode JV
Week of 20 Oct 2026	Equipment commissioning on the first cell line
Nov 2026	Second line planned
End 2026	First sales planned

Sources: Morocco World News, Le360 and 10jqka.

A few details stand out:

Speed. Buildings and infrastructure took 13 months. Several thousand containers of production lines and equipment were shipped from China.
Capacity figures differ. Most reports give 20 GWh for phase one; the AfDB describes 10 GWh. Both point to 100 GWh in the long run. Check which figure a source is using.
Localisation targets. The AfDB expects more than 600 direct jobs in phase one and a 70% local integration rate, and Gotion says full build-out will mean more than 2,300 direct jobs. In mid-October, however, WebManagerCenter noted that no verifiable local integration rate was yet available.
Ownership. According to CnEVPost, Volkswagen's Chinese investment arm held 24.28% of Gotion as of 20 September 2026. The Kenitra cathode JV is 51% Gotion and 49% PowerCo, and its output will go first to the partners' battery projects in Spain and Slovakia. The deal still needs shareholder and regulatory approval in China and abroad.

For suppliers, the lesson is in the timing. Construction to commissioning took about 13 months, but most purchasing and service demand comes during commissioning, ramp-up and expansion: from late 2026 onwards.

Three clusters compared

	Kenitra	Tanger Tech	Jorf Lasfar
Where	North of Rabat; Atlantic Free Zone about 10 km east of Kenitra	Northern Morocco, near Tangier	Atlantic coast, next to OCP's port and phosphate complex
Chinese projects	Gotion cells; Gotion–PowerCo cathode	BTR, Hailiang, Shinzoom	CNGR's COBCO, Tinci
Chain segment	Cells, packs, storage, cathode	Cathode and anode materials, copper foil	Precursors, cathode, recycling, electrolyte
Natural fit for suppliers	Equipment service, logistics, living services	Materials packaging, chemical logistics	Chemical transport, environmental and water services

According to CDG, the Atlantic Free Zone covers 345 hectares and already hosts automotive suppliers such as Lear and Fujikura.

How to choose? Firms serving a cell plant with equipment maintenance, daily logistics or expatriate services will find Kenitra convenient, close to Rabat and its amenities. Chemical suppliers, hazardous-goods hauliers and environmental contractors are closer to their customers at Jorf Lasfar. Materials suppliers who also want easy links to Europe should look at Tangier. Many service firms start in one location and travel to the others as projects require.

Why Morocco

Raw materials. The USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 puts Morocco's phosphate rock reserves at 50 billion tonnes, against about 73 billion worldwide. Phosphate is a base input for LFP batteries. Morocco also produces cobalt: the local miner Managem agreed to supply Renault with 5,000 tonnes a year of cobalt sulphate for seven years from 2025 (Engineering News).

Market access. According to the US International Trade Administration, Morocco's Association Agreement with the EU took effect in 2000 and its FTA with the US in 2006, the only US free trade agreement in Africa. Morocco has preferential trade deals with 62 countries in all.

Customers next door. Morocco built 501,965 vehicles in 2025, down 11.5% on 2024 and 40.8% of Africa's output, according to NAAMSA data reported by Morocco World News. Industry minister Ryad Mezzour said national capacity would reach one million vehicles a year by the end of 2025, with local integration of about 70% (Hespress). The gap between capacity and output is room that new segments such as batteries can help fill.

Clean power. Energy transition minister Leila Benali told parliament that renewables made up 46% of the electricity mix in 2025 (North Africa Post). Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power plans an $800 million, 500 MW wind farm to supply Gotion's plant (Reuters via CNBC Africa). As EU rules move towards carbon-footprint disclosure, low-carbon electricity is a real selling point.

Incentives. Under the Investment Charter's main support scheme, a project qualifies with at least MAD 50 million of investment and 50 stable jobs, or with more than 150 jobs on its own. Grants can reach 30% of eligible investment and include a territorial premium of 10–15% and a 5% premium for priority sectors such as industry (Casablanca Regional Investment Centre). Most small firms fall below those thresholds; a separate scheme for very small, small and medium firms (Decree No. 2.25.342) is worth checking in detail.

The challenges

The opportunity is real, and so are the difficulties.

Skills. Most of Gotion's 400-plus Moroccan hires were trained at the group's plants in China, and experienced technicians remain scarce.
Timelines. Reports on BTR's start date range from Q2 2026 to September 2026, and commissioning is not full output.
Shifting rules. The US consumer clean-vehicle credit ended for vehicles bought after 30 September 2025 (IRS), which weakens the case for Morocco as a route into the US. The EU Battery Regulation requires a battery passport for EV batteries from February 2027 (Battery Design).
Infrastructure. Gotion's raw materials currently travel by National Road 4, which is congested at peak hours, and the rail spur is still being built. Water, permits, and working in French and Arabic all need planning.

How a smaller supplier can get in: five steps

Start with the customer, then the location. Decide which anchor plant and which part of its chain you will serve, then choose between Kenitra, Tangier and Jorf Lasfar.
Visit. Walk the zones and meet purchasing teams to learn supplier approval rules, certifications and payment terms.
Choose your structure and site. A standard company or a free-zone entity, a leased unit or shared warehousing: each choice affects tax, customs procedures and start-up cost.
Register and bank. Company registration, bank account, capital transfer, and residence and work permits for Chinese staff each have their own paperwork and lead times, usually counted in months.
Start small. Send a few key people, hire locally, and grow as your customer ramps up rather than investing heavily on day one.

Before committing, ask a few questions. Does the customer have a written intention to buy locally? What licences does the service need? Can your cash flow carry payment terms of three to six months? Can you hire French-speaking technicians locally?

What it means for Chinese businesses

Gotion's environmental filings show the plant will need about 95,000 tonnes of iron phosphate, 24,200 tonnes of lithium carbonate and 15,000 tonnes of LPG a year, with about 80% sourced from China (10jqka). Once anchor plants are running, demand spreads outward:

Logistics and customs: ocean freight, port handling, hazardous-goods transport, bonded storage.
Packaging and consumables: returnable crates, pallets, anti-static packaging, safety gear.
Equipment maintenance: installation, spare parts and servicing for Chinese-built lines, where engineers who speak Chinese are in demand.
Construction and environmental services: plant fit-out, clean rooms, wastewater treatment, fire safety.
Living services: housing, Chinese catering, transport, interpreting and medical accompaniment for expatriate staff.

Following a large customer abroad lowers the commercial risk for a smaller firm, but registration, banking, residence, hiring and compliance all take time. A site visit is a sensible first step before choosing a base.

Sources

Information as of November 2026, for general reference only; not investment advice.

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