Kees Koolen, chairman of Lithium Werks, speaks at a news conference on Dec 4. [Photo by Hu Xiaoli/Chinanews.com]

Lithium Werks, a Dutch company leading the world in energy storage and lithium ion battery manufacturing, announced they had begun preliminary work on the building of a battery gigafactory in Jiashan county, Zhejiang province on Dec 4.

The construction, to be conducted jointly by the company and Jiashan Economic and Technological Development Zone with an investment of €1.6 billion ($1.82 billion), will officially start in 2019. Once completed, the factory will become the first of its kind in China that has seen investment by a European company.

The gigafactory is planned to have an area of 60 hectares with an initial annual production capacity of 8GWh. It is expected to be put into operation at the beginning of 2021.

Kees Koolen, chairman of Lithium Werks, said the factory in Jiashan will manufacture lithium ion battery packs and systems for energy storage and industrial applications. He explained that by cooperating with Chinese partners, he hopes to help transform the country's energy structure.

Lu Chunhao, vice director of Jiashan, said the cooperation with Lithium Werks is of great significance for the county's development. The official pledged to offer quality and efficient services to facilitate the construction of the project.

Jiashan has developed close ties with the Netherlands in recent years with the Sino-Dutch (Jiashan) Industrial Cooperation Park as the main base. To date, 13 projects from the Netherlands and some other European countries have been stationed in the park with a total investment of more than $1.33 billion.

A view of the Sino-Dutch (Jiashan) Industrial Cooperation Park in Jiashan county of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province [Photo from Jiashan publicity department]