Since 2026, the global layout of energy storage production capacity has entered an accelerated phase, with domestic enterprises increasingly focusing on overseas markets. On January 20, the Portuguese government announced the signing of investment agreements with six companies, including CALB, with Prime Minister Montenegro attending the ceremony. Among these, CALB's lithium battery factory project officially received €350 million (approximately RMB 2.853 billion) in government subsidies.
The CALB Portugal project is located in the Sines Industrial Zone, with a total investment of €2.067 billion (approximately RMB 16.852 billion) and covers an area of 45 hectares. It will primarily produce power batteries and energy storage batteries for the electric vehicle (EV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) sectors. The €350 million (approximately RMB 2.853 billion) subsidy from the Portuguese government is expected to effectively alleviate the initial investment pressure for the project.
The project's groundbreaking ceremony was held as early as February 2025, and it was granted "Project of National Interest" (PIN) status by the Portuguese government, underscoring its importance in the local industrial landscape. According to the plan, the project will be fully operational by 2028, and upon completion, it will establish an annual energy storage battery production capacity of 15GWh, directly creating 1,800 jobs.
For comparison, this capacity scale is equivalent to that of Sungrow Power Supply's Hungary base. It will not only cater to the growing energy storage demand within Europe itself but also leverage the logistical advantages of the Port of Sines to reach markets in the Mediterranean and Africa.
CALB had previously projected that this project would have a significant impact on the Portuguese economy. When it reaches full production capacity in 2028, it is expected to account for over 4% of Portugal's GDP, with subsequent plans to expand capacity to 45GWh.
Industry analysts believe that for CALB, the realization of this project will fill the gap in its European energy storage production layout, further perfecting its global production network. Focusing on overseas projects, CALB established a Pack factory base in Thailand in 2024 to implement its regional industrial layout in ASEAN, achieving batch production and delivery by 2025.
Currently, CALB's production bases cover key domestic locations such as Chengdu, Wuhan, Changzhou, Jiangmen, Xiamen, Hefei, and Meishan, as well as overseas regions including Thailand and Portugal.
In early 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued a document clarifying a phased reduction in export tax rebates for battery products: the rebate rate will drop from 9% to 6% between April and December 2026, and will be completely abolished starting January 2027. Against this backdrop, building factories overseas has become a core strategy for energy storage companies to hedge risks.
On one hand, overseas production can directly circumvent export tax rebate costs, avoiding profit compression from the reduction in rebates. On the other hand, localized production can significantly reduce logistics costs.
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