Shenzhen-based Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery will invest 12 billion yuan ($2 billion) to build an 800-mu (132-acre) new energy production base in Zhuhai, according to an investment agreement it signed with the Zhuhai municipal government on March 11.

Zhuhai Party Chief Lyu Yuyin (sixth from left) and Mayor Huang Zhihao (fifth from left) bear witness to the contract signing ceremony [Photo by Zhao Chongxing / WeChat account: zhuhaifabu]

The base is expected to start production of power and energy storage batteries in the second half of 2023 and generate an annual production capacity of 30 GWh.

It will strive to build a new manufacturing base focused on lithium-ion batteries and benchmark factory for the battery cells, modules, as well as automotive power and energy storage battery systems. R&D and testing institutions for lithium-ion batteries will be set up, while the application of optical storage and super-fast charging technologies will be further promoted. 

At the 9th CPC Zhuhai Municipal Congress in December 2021, officials emphasized that the city will cultivate and expand local new energy industry focusing on power batteries, energy storage batteries, and photovoltaic equipment to make it a new economic growth pillar in Zhuhai.

Sunwoda's project will fill a core link in Zhuhai's power battery industrial chain, attract more upstream and downstream companies to settle in the city, and help Zhuhai develop into a hub for the new energy industry.