Volkswagen and Gotion Join Forces in Three Battery Ventures Worth €3.22 Billion

Volkswagen is tightening its bond with Chinese cell maker Gotion High-tech, turning what were separate battery plans into three shared ventures. According to a Gotion stock exchange filing, the two companies will pour a combined €3.22 billion into projects in Spain, Slovakia and Morocco.

The first of these is PowerCo’s cell plant in Sagunto, near Valencia, which is currently under construction. Volkswagen’s battery arm will hold a controlling 51 percent there, with Gotion taking the remaining 49 percent. The arrangement flips for the other two projects: Gotion keeps 51 percent of its Slovakian cell factory, run through Gotion InoBat Batteries, and of a cathode material plant in Morocco, leaving Volkswagen with 49 percent in each.

The money is split roughly down the middle. PowerCo is expected to contribute about €1.62 billion, while Gotion puts in around €1.6 billion, with the largest share — €2.26 billion — earmarked for Sagunto and roughly €480 million each for Slovakia and Morocco. Output from Spain and Slovakia, planned at a combined 37.5 GWh a year, would mainly serve Volkswagen, while the Moroccan site would supply LFP cathode material at a targeted 100,000 tonnes annually to the European plants.

Nothing is final yet. Although Gotion’s board backed the proposal on 28 September, the investment agreement has yet to be signed and the deal still needs shareholder and regulatory clearance, so questions over capacity figures and InoBat’s future role at the Slovakian site remain open. Volkswagen already owns about a quarter of Gotion and has leaned on the company for unified cells and technical support at its Salzgitter facility.