CATL is to establish a gigafactory in North America

Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL), is planning to invest almost $5 billion into a gigafactory in North America. 

Already having established an production capacity of 145 GWh, according to Bloomberg, CATL is ambitiously expanding its global investments after beginning operations in China and Europe. The company aims to reach 579 GWh of capacity by 2026. 

According to Electrive, CATL's North American plant will supply several EV manufacturers, including Tesla, which is already buying batteries from the company. 

The new plant is expected to produce Lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) along with nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC). When completed, the plant will have a 80 GWh production capacity and potentially employ 10,000 people. 

Mexico may be the winner

The location of the gigafactory is not yet clear as Mexico, Canada and the US are all being considered. Bloomberg states "labour availability and trade union issues" regarding the choice. It is also stated that CATL executives visited Mexico in early March. 

One of the strategies in building the gigafactory in the region is to reduce the cost of import duties for the batteries manufactured in China. 

Mexico might become the location of the CATL gigafactory as President Biden's plan on the eMobility industry aims to support domestic companies. 

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