Group14 Plans Battery Material Factory in Sagunt, Spain
US battery material company Group14 Technologies has chosen Sagunt in Spain for its next industrial-scale production module. The plant will make SCC55, a silicon-carbon material that can replace graphite in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries, electrive reported on 30 October.
Key takeaways
- Initial capacity of 10 GWh per year at Sagunt.
- Linked to a new capital increase of 150 million euros from an unnamed European investor in 2026.
- Group14's short-term capacity rises to 40 GWh across the US, Korea and Spain.
- No opening date, job numbers or subsidies have been announced.
The plant and the funding
The new investment of 150 million euros in 2026 (about US$169 million) is tied to Group14's commitment to make SCC55 in Europe. The investor has not been named. With it, the company's Series D round has passed US$665 million, about 593 million euros at 2026 exchange rates. Group14 had already raised US$463 million in 2025.
Sagunt is also where Volkswagen's battery company PowerCo is building a large cell factory, which is set to become a joint venture involving Gotion High-tech. electrive notes speculation that the new investor could be linked to the Volkswagen Group, but this is unconfirmed, and PowerCo has not been named as a partner in the Group14 plant. CEO and co-founder Rick Luebbe said battery material producers must be located where batteries are made in order to truly transform the energy economy.
Group14's network and partners
The company is based in Woodinville, Washington, where a pilot plant has run since 2021. A 10 GWh plant in Sangju, South Korea, is already in production, and two 10 GWh facilities in Moses Lake, Washington, are planned to open in 2027. In the longer term Group14 aims for hundreds of gigawatt-hours of capacity over the next decade.
SCC55 is already used in smartphones, drones, hypercars and eVTOL aircraft. Porsche is a major investor. Group14 also owns German firm Schmid Silicon, which supplies a precursor gas from a plant at Schwarze Pumpe, and it has worked with BASF on a market-ready silicon anode solution.
What it means for you
Silicon-carbon anodes can store more energy than graphite, which can mean more range from the same battery size or faster charging. Producing the material in Spain, next to a major European cell factory, should shorten supply chains for carmakers in Europe. The effect on the cars you can buy will take several years, as the plant has no start date yet, but it points to lighter and longer-range electric cars later this decade.
Learn more in our electric cars hub or read our guide to used electric car battery health.
Sources
- electrive: Group14 to build battery material factory in Sagunt (30 Oct 2026) (accessed 1 Nov 2026)
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