11:09 15-11-2025

EU pushback threatens CATL–Stellantis LFP battery launch in Spain

A fresh political and industrial clash is brewing around CATL’s Spanish project. The Chinese battery heavyweight, co-building an LFP plant in Figueruelas with Stellantis, says it needs entry clearance for 2,000 engineers, technicians, and managers from China to commission the site. The company maintains that the advanced production lines cannot be started up and calibrated without them.

The spark was a recent intervention by EU industry commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, who criticized the practice of bringing into EU countries factories that rely on Chinese components and Chinese staff. His remarks were aimed at Chery, BYD, and CATL, which Brussels considers slow to share technology with European partners.

CATL responds that the specialists are needed only during the launch phase. After that, local employees would be trained and would gradually take control of operations. The company points to the same pattern at its sites in Germany and Hungary.

The request comes across as pragmatic, framing the launch as a technical hurdle rather than a political litmus test. Still, the tone from Brussels hints at a wider struggle over who sets the terms of access—and who ultimately keeps the know-how on European soil.

Investment in the Spanish project exceeds €4.1 billion, with production slated to begin by late 2026. Now, though, the agreement could face delays as the EU debates new measures, including making technology transfer to European companies a condition for market access.