Spain will pump €133 million ($146 million) into a potential battery production base by automaker Stellantis in partnership with Chinese supplier CATL near the northeastern city of Zaragoza, as the country is looking to become a major European electric vehicle maker. The automaker responded to a Reuters report saying the project, which would create about 3,000 jobs and require an investment of almost €2.5 billion, is still “subject to completion of all regulatory approvals” and not ready to be officially announced. The news comes a year after the two companies signed a non-binding agreement to make low-cost, iron-based batteries for its B-class and C-class passenger vehicles in Europe. CATL has been making lithium-ion batteries at its first European plant in the German state of Thuringia since late 2021. It also expects to complete the construction of a site in Hungary capable of making 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries within two years, a project that began in late 2022. [Reuters]