Slovakia’s InoBat eyes electric vehicle battery plant in Serbia

Slovakian battery maker InoBat said on Monday it has signed declarations of intent with the Serbian government to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in the Balkan country with a capacity of up to 32 gigawatt hours (GWh), Reuters reported.

The plant would open with an initial capacity of 4 GWh in 2025.

The Serbian government has agreed to provide funding of up to 419 million euros ($431 million) including grants and tax incentives to support the project, InoBat said.

Although the agreement is not final, a source familiar with the matter said it is close to being so.

InoBat has said it wants to build a gigafactory in western Europe and one in eastern Europe.

Last month InoBat said it had signed a declaration of intent with Spain’s government to build a gigafactory in Valladolid. The declaration is not a finalised agreement and other locations, including the United Kingdom, remain under consideration for InoBat’s western European factory.

InoBat also plans a research & development facility in Indiana, which could expand into a gigafactory, in a joint venture with fintech company Ideanomics. Ideanomics is an investor in InoBat, as are mining group Rio Tinto and Czech utility CEZ.