Navarre and Hithium sign the investment commitment for their battery plant in a ceremony together with President Sánchez
- President Chivite and the founder and Chairman of Hithium, Jeff Wu, ratify this investment in a strategic sector, which will mean around 400 million euro and 700 jobs
BEIJING, April 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The President of Navarre, María Chivite Navascués, met this Wednesday with representatives of the Chinese energy storage company Hithium, within the framework of the working trip of the Navarrese delegation to China that is taking place these days. During the meeting with the Founder and Chairman of Hithium, Jeff Wu, and in the presence of the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, an agreement was signed between the regional government and the Chinese company to advance in "the development, construction and operation" of the future gigafactory of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and cell.
The future factory involves an investment of around 400 million euros and will involve the creation of 700 direct jobs.
The text points out in this regard that this initiative will make "a substantial contribution to Europe's green energy transition, while strengthening the solid economic and trade cooperation between China and Spain".
During the meeting, President Chivite stressed that, "although there are still steps and details to be specified", the investment "will materialise in the Community, which is good news for all the people of Navarre". He also announced that the company's forecast is that it can start production in 2027.
Chivite also stressed that Navarre has experience in the materialisation of foreign projects and stressed the seriousness of the Community when it comes to working, the proximity of the institutions and the strengthening of the Navarrese ecosystems that these investments entail.
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Ecological and Digital Business Transition, Mikel Irujo, remarked that the agreement reached has been the result of "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". In this sense, he stressed that the Community has been chosen for this project for its industrial ecosystem, specifically, "the engineering services it offers, its level of technology centers, industrial services, training, universities and vocational training".
In addition to the Navarrese delegation, Dr. Qi Tang, Hithium's Managing Director of Strategy Development Office, participated in the meeting on behalf of the company, stating that the agreement marks a "milestone" in the Chinese company's investment in Navarre. Tang has thus positively assessed the relations between China and Spain, and has expressed Hithium's intention to launch the project "as soon as possible".
"We believe that both Navarre and Spain offer the right commercial atmosphere for us and for other Chinese companies to develop their business in Europe," he explained, while expressing his confidence that the project of the future battery factory in Navarre "will be very successful".
Likewise, Tang stressed that one of the reasons for the choice of Navarre has been the "efficiency of the Navarrese authorities in the process", as well as the "strong support" shown by them during decision-making.
Relationship between Navarre and Hithium
Last November, during the previous trade mission carried out by the Government of Navarre to China, President Chivite was also able to visit the company's facilities in Chongqing. Subsequently, this March the Chinese company announced its intention to build a gigafactory in Navarre, aimed at both the manufacture of cells and the assembly of storage systems in stationary batteries, with a total investment of around 400 million euros.
Along the same lines, a meeting was also held on March 10 at the Palacio de Navarre between President Chivite, Minister Irujo, the investment director of Hithium, Hao Wang, and the company's legal director Lily Lu.
Hithium
Hithium is a Chinese company founded in the year 2019, headquartered in Xiamen. It has battery production facilities in Xiamen, Chongqing and Heze in China and Dallas in the USA. The new factory will therefore be the second location of this company outside China, and the first in the European Union.
The Chinese energy company specialises in stationary energy storage systems (BESS) in particular, and has multiple R+D+i centres and production plants. Today, it is positioning itself among the leading global players in the large-scale battery sector for industrial, commercial, and utility applications. It is the leading company in this sector in China, and the number two in the world.
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