Wrocław to become the centre of electromobility in Central Europe

Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu S.A. on behalf of the Ministry of Development has granted to LG Chem Wrocław Energy Sp. z o.o., a company of Korean LG concern, permission to conduct business activity on the area of Wrocław-Kobierzyce sub-zone in Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone EURO-PARK WISŁOSAN. Thanks to the investment of LG Chem, the biggest in Europe factory manufacturing electric car batteries for the leading automotive concerns will be in Poland. LG Chem constructs the factory in which it will be possible to manufacture us much as 100 thousand pieces of high-capacity electric car batteries. The construction of the factory will be finished in 2018. Moreover, LG Chem invested PLN 1.4 billion in LG Chem Wrocław Energy - a subsidiary managing the production plant manufacturing electric car batteries in Poland. The company granted also a credit guarantee in the amount of PLN 2.8 billion. LG Chem Wrocław Energy will supply the production powers within the market needs. LG Chem's investment in Kobierzyce is also a major step in execution of the government Electromobility Development Plan. "Poland is a more and more popular place for the innovative global companies to invest. This proves that the changes introduced by the government are taking the right course. Another such big investment of LG is a very important development for us. The project means a new quality in direct investments in Poland and is a milestone in electromobility development. Thanks to the LG's investment, Poland will be the main centre of lithum-ion batteries for automotive industry in Europe" – said Mateusz Morawiecki, the Vice-Premier, the Minister of Development and Finance. "We expect a quick increase in the electromobility market in Europe, as many European governments seek to popularize the eco-friendly technologies. LG Chem has chosen Poland as the most competitive location of the production for the needs of automotive concerns in Europe and in the world. The plant constructed in Kobierzyce will be a fully "smart factory" where the most advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and energy storage systems will be manufactured. We plan to create a global electromobility centre in Wrocław by investing in this region even further. We value the support of Polish authorities and we hope for the further close co-operation in the future" – said Chang-Beom Kang, the Vice-President of LG Chem Ltd. Approximately 2.5 thousand people will find employment in new LG Chem plants, and within the co-operating companies, the total number of new workplaces can be even twice bigger. The high technological level of production and establishment of the research & development centre will create workplaces for approximately 400 engineers with various specialisations: automatics, electronic, chemistry and IT. LG plans to co-operate with technology universities in Poland, especially with Wrocław University of Science and Technology. On of the examples is Starion Poland, a manufacturer of housings and plastic elements, which at the beginning of September this year started construction of factory of components for production of lithium-ion batteries worth PLN 55 million. LG Chem plant is yet another gig investment after Daimler, Toyota, Fiat and Volkswagen, thanks to the actions of Ministry of Development and its institutions. According to the Eurostat data, since the beginning of the year, 223 thousand additional workplaces in industry out of 354 thousand workplaces in the whole European Union were created in Poland. This means that two out of three new workplaces in production sector in the whole European Union were created in Poland. Since the beginning of functioning of the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone EURO-PARK WISŁOSAN, the total of almost 350 authorizations to conduct business activity were issued. The existing investment funds in the zone amounted to PLN 8.5 billion, thanks to which more than 30 thousand workplaces were created. Currently, the zone covers the areas of 6 voivodeships in 22 sub-zones, the total area of which amounts to 1,868 ha.