Hithium to invest €400 million in Spanish mega battery factory

Chinese multinational Hithium is considering building a battery and energy storage system manufacturing plant in Navarre, with an initial investment of around €400 million and the potential creation of up to 1,050 jobs across two phases of development.

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on social media on Monday that he had “met with Jeff Wu, founder of Hithium, a company considering a significant investment to manufacture energy storage systems in Navarre.”

On Tuesday, the president of Navarre, María Chivite, announced the signing of a letter of intent between the regional government and the company.

The project will be structured through a new joint venture between Hithium and the Navarrese public company Sodena, in what the regional government has described as “an example of public-private collaboration aimed at technological reindustrialization.”

The future facility, whose exact location has not yet been determined, could become operational in 2027. The first phase is expected to create around 750 direct jobs, with a further 300 positions anticipated in a second phase. No additional details have been disclosed regarding the project’s purpose or production capacity.

It also remains unclear whether the plant will manufacture battery cells or complete battery systems. In China, Hithium produces everything from battery cells to fully integrated containerized systems for power plants. Its technology is primarily based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

The company says the investment is intended to establish an industrial base in Europe. The government of Navarre believes Hithium’s presence could help position the region as a European hub for energy storage while strengthening industrial competitiveness through access to renewable energy at more stable prices.

Hithium has already registered a local subsidiary, Hithium Spain Innovation, based in Pamplona, to carry out the project in the region. The company’s registered address is on Emilio Arrieta Street in the city.

From a financial standpoint, the plant will likely be located in an area designated as “supported,” which would allow it to access public subsidies of up to 20% of the investment, in line with limits set by European regional aid rules. According to Navarre’s industry minister, Mikel Irujo, the project is the result of three years of networking and institutional work, as well as the attractiveness of the regional ecosystem of universities, technology centres, specialised vocational training programmes and energy companies.

According to InfoLink’s 2025 Energy Storage Supply Chain Database, global shipments of battery cells for energy storage reached 612.39 GWh in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 94.59%. In the industrial-scale segment, shipments reached 556.74 GWh, up 96.73% year on year. Hithium ranked second in both categories.

Meanwhile, RWTH Aachen University in Aachen has published the third edition of the Battery Atlas 2026, a report mapping Europe’s lithium-ion battery value chain, including ongoing projects and their planned production capacities.

From pv magazine Spain