China’s CATL Breaks Ground in Spain, Building Europe Battery Hub

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd is breaking ground today on a €4.1 billion battery gigafactory in Figueruelas, in northeastern Spain, beginning a construction program officials expect to culminate in production by late 2026. The project, developed in partnership with automaker Stellantis and backed by more than €300 million in European Union funds, represents one of the largest single private investments in Spain’s industrial landscape in years.

CATL plans to bring roughly 2,000 Chinese technicians and construction workers to Figueruelas by the end of 2026 to help build and commission the facility. Company officials have also forecast hiring about 3,000 Spanish workers who will be trained as the plant ramps up. Local authorities say the project will create thousands of jobs indirectly and could anchor a regional battery cluster, while critics and unions warn that the balance between imported expertise and local employment will be decisive for community impact.

Spain has been an attractive location for large scale manufacturing because industrial energy and labour costs remain lower than the European Union average. That cost differential, combined with existing automotive supply chains in Spain and the partnership with Stellantis, informed CATL’s decision to locate the plant in Figueruelas. European policymakers and industry executives characterize the facility as strategically important for reducing Europe’s dependence on Asian battery makers and for shortening supply chains for electric vehicle production on the continent.

The arrival of Chinese technicians has revived debates in Brussels and in EU capitals over how subsidies and industrial policy should be conditioned. The European Union is moving to strengthen local sourcing requirements for strategic projects and to scrutinize the use of state aid to ensure that public funds promote European content, job creation, and technology transfer. The Figueruelas project will be an early test case for how those rules are applied in practice and whether large foreign investors can meet evolving expectations on local procurement and workforce development.

Regional unions and industry observers have noted parallels with CATL’s plant in Hungary, where concerns about local hiring and supply chain integration surfaced during earlier phases of construction. In Spain, union representatives expressed concerns about the scale and terms of foreign labor inflows and called for robust training commitments and protections for local workers. Industry sources said the Spanish workforce will need substantial upskilling to run advanced battery production lines, a process that could yield long term benefits if training commitments are fulfilled.

Beyond jobs, the gigafactory raises questions about local infrastructure, housing, and environmental oversight as a rural region prepares to host large industrial operations. For policymakers the challenge is to reconcile the immediate need to attract technology and investment with broader ambitions of industrial sovereignty, decent jobs, and equitable community outcomes as Europe builds its battery manufacturing base. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee.