The President of the Government of Spain analyses with the Chairman of CATL, Robin Zeng, the group's investment projects in Spain

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the CEO of CATL, Robin Zeng Yuqun, greet each other (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has held a meeting with Chairman and CEO of CATL, Robin Zeng. The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, the Director of the Office of Economic Affairs and G20, Manuel de la Rocha, as well as the co-founder and Vice President of CATL's Board of Directors, Jian Pan, the Vice President and Co-President of Sales and Marketing, Libin Tan, and the Director of International Public Affairs, Xiaoying Yin.

During the meeting, Pedro Sánchez discussed with the heads of the Chinese new energy technology company the group's investment projects in Spain and they agreed on the need to join forces in the fight against climate change and the move towards decarbonisation.

The President of the Government stressed that Spain is fully committed to decarbonisation and conveyed the Executive's firm commitment to the electrification of the automotive sector, for which it has already allocated more than 5.5 billion euros of European funds aimed at the reindustrialisation of the sector. In this commitment, it is worth highlighting the PERTE for the Electric and Connected Vehicle, whose last call for proposals (PERTE VEC III) will conclude at the end of the year, and a fourth call for proposals, to which 1.250 billion euros has been allocated, is expected to be launched soon.

The meeting follows the recent visit of the President of the Government of Spain to the People's Republic of China, where he held meetings with Chinese authorities and companies to strengthen economic, trade, business and investment relations.

The heads of the group, whose activity revolves around the manufacture and marketing of battery systems for electrified vehicles, highlighted the importance of collaborating in net zero projects in Spain as part of the fight against climate change. CATL also manufactures energy storage systems, contributing to the promotion of the development of the circular economy. The Government recently approved the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2023, which seeks to reach a figure of 5.5 million electric vehicles and 81% renewable electricity by 2030.

In 2023, CATL entered into an initial collaboration agreement with Stellantis for the supply of batteries with the possibility of joint investment in their manufacture. In October, the Ministry of Industry made the decision to award 133 million euros to Stellantis Figueruelas within battery line A of the PERTE VEC III. This grant comes in addition to the 14 million euros from the PERTE for industrial decarbonisation announced last October. In total, the Stellantis group has been awarded almost 300 million euros, through PERTE VEC calls, for the reorganisation of Figueruelas, among other projects.

Non official translation