Geely has begun to implement a project envisioning the construction of a traction battery plant in southwestern China. To this end, the automaker has teamed up with Farasis Energy, one of the country’s largest manufacturers of power cells.

The industrial complex will occupy an area of 310,000 square meters (76.6 acres) and churn out up to 12 gigawatt-hours’ worth of energy storage annually. The construction should be finished in a few years, and the first commercial batches are set to roll off the lines in late 2023.

Geely and Farasis Energy revealed their cooperation plans in December 2020. The partnership agreement between the two corporations is being implemented on a stage-by-stage basis. Its ultimate goal is to create 120 GWh of annual battery production capacity in the country. The first stage of the project started in May 2021.