Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Minister of Economy Denisa Sakova have signed a memorandum with Gotion InoBat Batteries (GIB) on developing a 20 GWh battery plant in Surany.

“I am very happy that one of the first investments we can announce during my time in office will be the building of the gigabattery plant, which is key for the future of the automobile industry and electromobility,” Sakonva told local media following the signing.

GIB is a joint venture of Chinese-owned Gotion High-Tech and Slovak start-up InoBat. The plant is supposed to secure some 1,500 jobs, and production should commence in 2026. Its output could later reach 40 GWh.

According to the memorandum, GIB should begin the works on the Surany site next year, and the government will assist the plant with subsidies, administration logistics and connection to the grid, online new outlet Aktuality.sk reported.   

“With the support of the Slovak government, Gotion has the ambition to develop this project as the most advanced battery plant with zero carbon print not just in Europe, but even worldwide,” stated Gotion’s chairman of the board, Li Zhen.

“We hope that in the future, Slovakia will not just be world number one in the production of cars per capita, but also in the production of batteries per capita,“ Li Zhen added.

Late in August, Gotion bought a 25% stake in InoBat following one-year talks between the two companies.    

InoBat’s CEO Marian Bocek described the cooperation as Inobat’s opportunity to widen its market reach and gain access to new clients in Slovakia and Europe, and he also expects Inobat to have access to production capacities in China and Europe.

In September, InoBat also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Serbia's Ministry of Finance and Cuprija municipality to construct a second gigafactory and recycling plant.

Gotion is part-owned by Volkswagen Gruppe, which invested more than €1bn into Gotion some three years ago, acquiring a 24.77% stake and enabling it to develop its activities further.