Chinese lithium-ion battery and energy storage systems manufacturer Hithium has signed a formal investment commitment to establish a manufacturing facility in Spain’s Navarre region.
The agreement represents an investment of approximately €400 million (US$471 million) and is projected to create 700 direct jobs when the facility becomes operational in 2027.
Navarre president María Chivite Navascués and Hithium founder and chairman Jeff Wu signed the agreement in the presence of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spanish Minister for Industry and Tourism Jordi Hereu, and Navarre’s Minister of Industry and Ecological and Digital Business Transition, Mikel Irujo.
Also representing Hithium was Dr Qi Tang, the company’s managing director of strategy development, who characterised the commitment as a “milestone” in the Chinese manufacturer’s European expansion strategy.
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Little detail has yet been publicly revealed about the battery manufacturing ‘gigafactory,’ including its size and annual production output and, crucially, whether it will manufacture battery cells, battery energy storage systems (BESS), or both.
It also remains to be seen which markets Hithium intends to serve from the factory in the future and whether it will primarily serve Spanish demand, broader European markets, or function as a global export hub.
The investment commitment is the culmination of two-year engagement between Hithium and Spanish authorities that began in early 2024.
Minister Irujo revealed that the agreement resulted from “intense work of two years of direct contact, seven visits by Chinese representatives to Navarre and four trips to China by delegations from the regional executive.”
The relationship deepened in November 2025, when Navarre’s President Chivite visited Hithium’s production facilities in Chongqing as part of a trade mission to China.
This site visit provided Navarrese officials with direct insight into Hithium’s manufacturing capabilities, technology platform, and operational scale. Following that mission, Hithium announced its intention to build a gigafactory in Navarre, with subsequent meetings on 9 and 10 March at both Moncloa Palace in Madrid and the Palacio de Navarre.
The Spanish government has positioned the country as a potential European clean energy hub, leveraging abundant solar and wind resources, robust grid infrastructure and a growing industrial ecosystem.
Spain’s strategic positioning in European battery manufacturing
The Hithium investment arrives as Spain positions itself as an emerging centre of battery production in Europe, joining several other significant manufacturing projects that could collectively transform the country’s industrial landscape.
AESC, the battery manufacturer formerly owned by Nissan and now controlled by Envision Group, held a ceremony in the summer of 2024 to break ground on a battery gigafactory in western Spain’s Extremadura region. Hailed by President Sanchez as a “victory against relocation and against industrial decline,” AESC’s facility will have an expected annual production capacity of 30GWh upon completion, focusing on lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to meet Europe’s growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs).
Additionally, automotive OEM giant Stellantis and Chinese battery manufacturing leader CATL broke ground in November 2024 on a battery factory in Zaragoza, again to serve the EV market, further reinforcing the country’s attractiveness for battery production investment. The companies’ joint venture, Contemporary Star Energy, said it would invest up to €4.1 billion in the plant, targeting 50GWh of annual production capacity and carbon neutrality.
The Spanish government has emphasised the importance of the battery value chain for industrial policy and economic development.
During his meeting with Wu in March, Prime Minister Sánchez highlighted the government’s “strong commitment in recent years to the energy transition and strengthening the energy storage value chain ecosystem,” positioning battery manufacturing as integral to Spain’s economic transformation and its ambition to become a European clean energy hub.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Xiamen, China, Hithium has rapidly established itself as a major player in the global energy storage sector.
Hithium specialises in stationary energy storage systems, distinguishing itself from battery manufacturers focused primarily on EV applications. The company produces everything from individual battery cells to fully integrated containerised systems designed for utility-scale power plants, industrial facilities and commercial applications.
Hithium has been actively expanding its international presence through supply agreements across multiple regions.
The company recently signed an agreement for battery storage system projects in Eastern Europe featuring its 587Ah and 1175Ah cells, large-format cells designed to maximise energy density and reduce the number of cells required for a given storage capacity.
Hithium also previously secured a 3GWh BESS supply agreement with BOS Power for deployment in Nordic countries.
Energy-Storage.news recently spoke with Maxxen managing director Ruben Valiente for a video interview at the Energy Storage Summit 2026 in London, where he discussed the European BESS system integrator’s partnership with Hithium, including cell supply in addition to IP and technology transfer, alongside ongoing discussions about a planned manufacturing collaboration.
