【By Observer News, Yuan Jiaqi】
As the second-largest automobile producer in the EU after Germany, Spain is fully committed to dealing with the wave of transformation toward electric vehicles, striving to maintain its industry position, and the government has actively attracted foreign investment. The large lithium iron phosphate battery factory built by the global power battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) in Spain not only precisely meets Spain's development expectations, but also continues to consolidate Spain's position as a core partner of China in Western Europe.
According to Reuters on the 26th, on Wednesday local time, a Spanish joint battery factory jointly owned by CATL and the multinational automaker Stellantis began construction. The project is located in Zaragoza, the capital of the Aragon region, with an investment of 4.1 billion euros, which is the largest single investment by China in Spain. The factory is scheduled to start production by the end of 2026, with a planned annual capacity of up to 50 gigawatt-hours.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, CATL executives announced that the company will train up to 4,000 operational workers for the Spanish factory, and pledged that the Chinese side will be committed to sharing technology to support Europe's energy transition.
The director of CATL's overseas public affairs said, "Battery production involves advanced technologies and operating experience accumulated over many years. Our goal is to make this cutting-edge technology available to everyone."
The report also mentioned that the project received 300 million euros in funding from the EU. This indicates that despite Brussels' efforts to tighten trade rules, the actual dependence of Europe on Chinese technology remains evident.
"We are building the best investment example in Spain and even all of Europe," said Jordi Hereu, Spain's minister of industry and tourism, who called the factory "the best contribution Spain can make to the re-industrialization of Europe." He also emphasized that technology transfer is crucial for the project.
"We need to learn from those who master the technology," he said, "rooted in a spirit of cooperation, and carrying our vision of 'European strategic autonomy,' Spain opens its arms to countries around the world, especially to China. This is just the first step."
Regarding the European Commission's plan to introduce new measures to support the industry in response to the so-called "impact" from Chinese competitors, union representatives and automotive industry representatives in the Aragon region admitted that Spain currently lacks relevant technical knowledge about battery production.
"We don't understand this technology and related components; we have never produced them before," David Romeral, general secretary of the Aragon Automotive Enterprises Association (CAAR Aragon), told Reuters, "Chinese companies are ahead of us by several years in this field, and what we can do now is to observe and learn."
On November 26 local time, in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, the groundbreaking ceremony of the CATL and Stellantis electric battery super factory. Visual China
This has drawn more attention to CATL's local talent cultivation plan. In September this year, CATL stated that to promote the construction of the Spanish factory, they would send 2,000 Chinese employees to Europe in batches, a scale unprecedented in Chinese industrial projects in Europe.
However, the company also promised that during the operation phase of the factory, local employees would be the main workforce. This model has been verified in the German factory: According to reports from the German news agency DPA, in 2024, the number of employees at CATL's German factory reached 2,200, with about 500 Chinese employees, and later it would gradually reduce to about 100 people. As the capacity increases, Chinese experts responsible for technical installation and capacity ramp-up are also returning to China.
At the ceremony, the CEO of the Spanish factory, Andy Wu, further stated that the factory is still selecting subcontractors and is willing to hire local employees. He revealed that the company plans to cooperate with Spanish universities to conduct targeted training and send some local employees to Chinese production bases for advanced training.
A company spokesperson added that the proportion of Chinese employees will ultimately be controlled below 10%. According to a report by Bloomberg, it was revealed that hundreds of Chinese employees will go to Spain initially, and they will stay locally for one to two years. Some of their responsibilities include providing training to local employees.
Earlier, the Financial Times pointed out that CATL's factory construction project has received support from Spain's two major political parties. The report said that Spain's left-wing Prime Minister Sanchez actively seeks trade and investment cooperation with China, and has visited China three times in the past two and a half years. Even the center-right People's Party, which generally holds opposing views with Sanchez on most issues, also expressed approval of the battery factory project.
This consensus is behind Spain's strategic ambition to become a hub for the European battery industry: With lower industrial electricity prices than the EU average by 20% and low-cost labor advantages, Spain is attracting global capital. In addition to CATL, companies such as Envision Energy, PowerCo under Volkswagen, and the Slovak startup InoBat are also planning to build factories here. Among them, the core investor of InoBat is Gotion High-tech, the fifth-largest power battery company in China, and its development also benefits from the professional technology of Chinese battery companies.
"Previously, we relied on German technology, now it's Chinese technology. What's the difference?" said Roque Ordovás Mangirón, logistics manager of Stellantis Group. "In Spain, what we can always provide is labor."
"As the factory's capacity gradually increases, Spanish workers will have more job opportunities," said Jose Juan Arceiz, secretary-general of the local union UGT. "This project must succeed, and everyone must do their part."
Despite the tough stance of Europe towards China and the pressure from the United States, Spain maintains a close trade relationship with China. Early in November, King Felipe VI of Spain recently led a ministerial delegation to visit China, accompanied by business leaders from the automotive, food, and energy sectors. The core topic was to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
This visit marks the king's return to China after 18 years, signifying that Spain has achieved a "grand slam" in visits to China within a year — following the head of government and the foreign minister, the head of state has also arrived as scheduled. Xinhua commented that this visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Spain, and will certainly inject new momentum into the high-level development of bilateral relations.
The Financial Times reported that the left-wing government led by Sanchez is one of the most openly "pro-China" governments in Western Europe. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen once criticized that Spain getting closer to China "is like cutting its own throat."
In response, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, "When it comes to 'cutting the throat,' the US is using tariffs to threaten and extort globally, which is trying to choke the throats of countries and force them to compromise and retreat in the face of its bullying."
He emphasized that Sino-Spanish relations are an important part of Sino-European relations. "Just like the good relations between China and other countries, Sino-Spanish cooperation has always provided impetus for the economies of both countries, benefits for the people, and assistance for the stability and development of the world."
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