18:24 18-12-2025

Why Europe's EV battery factories need Asian engineers now

Europe is building up its own production of batteries for electric cars, but without engineers from China and the rest of Asia the effort moves far slower. China has been accumulating battery know‑how for more than two decades, while Europe’s industry has essentially coalesced over the past five years. In this context, transferring expertise becomes not just helpful but decisive.

In Spain, CATL and Stellantis plan to launch a battery plant in Figueruelas and are pushing to bring in around 2,000 Chinese engineers, technicians, and managers. CATL says these specialists are needed to calibrate equipment and train local teams. It’s the same playbook the company has used at its sites in Germany and Hungary, a pragmatic move when precision and ramp-up speed determine whether a factory meets its targets.

A similar pattern is unfolding in France. In the region known as Battery Valley, Asian engineers are involved in commissioning Verkor and AESC plants that produce cells for Renault and Nissan. Even ACC—the joint venture created by Stellantis, Mercedes‑Benz, and TotalEnergies—temporarily brought in a Chinese partner, acknowledging that without outside expertise it cannot quickly establish the complex processes needed to supply batteries for new cars in 2026. With those launches on the horizon, the priority is clear: get the lines running correctly, then localize deeper as skills take root.