CALB's plant in Portugal will be located near a local port and the company aims to make the project a world-leading zero-carbon plant.

(Image credit: CALB)

CALB will build its first production site in Europe in Portugal, marking an important step for the Chinese power battery manufacturer in the international market.

CALB and the Portuguese government signed a memorandum of cooperation on November 2 in Sines, Sebatul, Portugal, a major milestone in the company's expansion of its industrial presence in the global market, according to a press release today.

The company's battery project in Portugal is planned for an industrial area near the port of Sines, which is located in the heart of European logistics, the press release said.

The port is the second largest deep-water port in Europe with 24-hour operations and the only port in Portugal that can handle the world's largest container ships.

It also has the largest rail freight platform in Portugal, operating more than 5,000 container trains a year to and from Europe's hinterland, CALB said.

CALB aims to make the project the world's leading highly intelligent, digital and automated zero-carbon factory, it said.

On October 6, CALB went public in Hong Kong, officially landing on the international capital market and opening a new chapter in the implementation of its internationalization strategy, the company said, adding that its effort in Europe is another important step in the company's accelerated globalization.

CALB, the world's seventh-largest maker of power batteries, had a 3.7 percent share of international battery installations in September, according to a report released Tuesday by Seoul-based SNE Research.

CALB also ranked seventh in the global market with a 4.0 percent share in the January-September period, according to the report.

The company went public in Hong Kong on October 6 with an initial public offering at HK$38 per share, raising about HK$10.1 billion.

Fifteen cornerstone investors, including Xpeng Motors and Tianqi Lithium, subscribed for a total of about HK$5.8 billion of the company's shares, representing 8.43 percent of post-IPO equity.

CALB began trading in Hong Kong on October 6 and closed the day flat at HK$38 per share.

In the past week, the company suffered a severe sell-off, including a 34.58 percent drop at the close of trading on October 27.

The company closed flat today at HK$20.55, 46 percent below its IPO price.