Hailiang to build battery parts plant in Morocco: Chinese copper tubes and rods manufacturer Zhejiang Hailiang is planning to construct a USD 288 mn plant for the production of lithium-battery copper foil in Morocco, according to a company filing(pdf) to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

What we know: The plant will be constructed in 36 months and will have the capacity to produce 50k tons of alloy, 35k tons of pipe, 40k tons of rod, and 25 tons of foil annually for export to Europe, America, MENA, and Africa.

The significance of copper foil: Copper foil is a key material in lithium-ion batteries which acts as the current collector for the anode. The thin and conductive foil conducts electricity and helps release heat generated by the battery during operation.

Why Morocco? Morocco's free trade agreements with the US, EU and Turkey will allow easy access to those markets, Bloomberg explains. Hailiang also wants to capitalize on Africa's abundant copper resources to keep production costs low.

Part of a wider shift in overseas production: Hailiang has been increasingly turning to overseas markets as it faces shrinking profit margins at home due to tighter restrictions on Chinese products in the West, Bloomberg adds. By moving its production to other countries, the company is able to evade the US sanctions on US goods, Morocco World News said. Last year, the company revealed it is establishing a 50k ton lithium-battery copper foil plant in Indonesia, add in to its already existing production bases in the US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Vietnam and Thailand.

Morocco is establishing itself as a EV component hub: The kingdom inked a USD 297 mn investment agreement with Chinese EV battery components maker BTR New Material for the construction of a cathode factory for electric vehicle batteries last month. Earlier in January, the kingdom said it had secured USD 700 mn in EV battery cathode investments from Chinese companies including the Tanier cathode facility. Chinese battery giant CNGR also partnered with Morocco-based pan-African investment fund Al Mada last September to build a USD 2 bn industrial base for battery parts production and recycling.

More in the works: Chinese battery maker Gotion High Tech was in discussions with Morocco on securing a location for its USD 6.4 bn gigafactory for the production of EV batteries and energy storage systems last month. Chinese battery minerals producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt was also exploring a USD 20 bn electric vehicle battery plant in Morocco in August.

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