The Belgian company Avesta Battery and Energy Engineering (ABEE) has officially unveiled its €1.4bn project for the construction of an electric Li-ion battery factory for the automotive industry in Galati, eastern Romania.

Romvolt, the Romanian ABEE subsidiary in Galati, will supply batteries mainly for the automotive industry, but also for the energy storage market, seen as critical for the transition to renewable energy. The plant could reach full production capacity in 2026-2027.

Romvolt will have a total production capacity of 22 GWh, which is the equivalent of the batteries needed by 354,000 electric cars such as the Volkswagen ID3 (62 kWh per car).

The project was announced at an event attended by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, Romania’s Minister of Economy Ştefan-Radu Oprea, former minister of economy Florin Spataru and Ionut Pucheanu, mayor of Galati.

The project got financial support from the Romanian government, but it is largely financed by investment banks. 

A second €200mn stage of the project envisages a battery recycling unit. The recycling capacity will be 50,000 tonnes annually with the second phase of the investment that will run from 2028 to 2030.

At the end of May, ABEE signed an agreement for the production of battery management systems in North Macedonia, sealed by Noshin Omar, CEO of ABEE and Jovan Despotovski, director of Industrial and Technological Development Zones.

The investment in North Macedonia amounts to about €40mn and will have a capacity of about 300,000 units. It is expected to start production in 2024.