Battery factories in Europe: operational, planned and cancelled projects

The European Union (EU) is seeking to lessen its reliance on China for battery manufacturing by encouraging producers to establish operations within its borders. However, several carmakers have scaled back their plans as demand for electric vehicles has fallen.

Stellantis and CATL are the latest companies to reveal battery-production investments, committing €4.1 billion to build a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Zaragoza, Spain. They are not alone.

This article covers the dedicated battery-production facilities already operating in Europe, those planned for the continent and those that have been cancelled.

Operational battery factories

These are the operational battery factories currently present in Europe:

Among the countries involved, Spain stands out as a promising contender in this industrial race. It is moving from having no battery factories to becoming one of Europe’s leading producers.

There are currently 13 battery-production factories in Europe, although some remain in their testing and production start-up phases. Morrow Batteries’ facility in Arendal, Norway, is one such example.

Northvolt’s plant in Skellefteå, Sweden, halted operations in September 2024 to expand its facilities, following production difficulties linked to weak demand and Chinese competition. At present, the factory is producing battery cells only.

Planned battery factories

Explore the battery factories planned for Europe:

Cancelled battery factories

Alongside these projects are several battery factories whose construction has been postponed or cancelled altogether. These include a Northvolt and Galp facility planned for Setúbal, which was intended to become Europe’s largest and most sustainable lithium conversion plant.

The Swedish battery manufacturer withdrew from the project after filing for insolvency, forcing the refinery to do the same because it no longer had a partner. Find out in detail what happened:

In addition to this project, Northvolt also cancelled its planned battery-cell factory in Borlänge, Sweden. Volvo Cars is nevertheless trying to obtain full control of NOVO Energy, the company created through its joint venture with Northvolt to manufacture batteries, in order to move the project forward.

Two further battery factories in Europe have also been cancelled: one in Finland, owned by the Chinese company Svolt, and another in Mo i Rana, Norway, owned by Freyr. In Italy, Italvolt, backed by design company Pininfarina, has indefinitely postponed plans for a €3.5 billion battery factory.

In July, Porsche said it was seeking investors for a battery factory, although it provided no further details about the project.

Meanwhile, two factories in the United Kingdom - in Coventry and Sunderland - are awaiting approval to begin or continue construction of their facilities.

Source: Reuters