Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering BV (ABEE) signs Memorandum of Understanding with Municipality of Figueira da Foz (MFF)

The Memorandum Of Understanding signed on March 28, at Casa do Paço, summarizes the collaboration intention between the MFF and the ABEE with regard to the creation of an R&D center for solid state battery cells with a capacity of 0.5 – 1 GWh, on land of 17,000 m2, owned by the Municipality, located in Figueira da Foz.

“Figueira da Foz is being the center of betting in Portugal, in the area of energy transition” said Pedro Santana Lopes, Mayor of Figueira da Foz, recognizing the importance of this investment in the city for associating technology, sustainability, innovation and investigation. It is “another important step in the assertion of Figueira as a center of high technologies, always supporting a strong research component”, which is why continuous efforts are being joined for a “clear improvement in terms of transport networks: road, rail , port and air”.

Noshin Omar, CEO of ABEE, intends with this investment to create in Figueira da Foz “the 1st large-scale research and development centre, which could be considered the 1st Gigafactory in Europe”. The project is developed in two distinct phases: implementation (total investment of €70 million) and development/consolidation (total investment of €1,800,000), creating more than 200 and 2000 jobs, respectively.

ABEE, a Belgium-based company in the field of battery technology and recycling, owns intellectual property, proprietary knowledge and specialist know-how with regard to processing, scaling up and developing different types of battery cells.