The Sagunt gigafactory project in Spain has drawn a South Korean supplier, ILJN Materials, to invest heavily in Europe. Through its IMS Technology subsidiary, ILJN Materials plans a 600 million euro facility in Tarragona, located about 200 kilometers from Sagunt, creating around 500 local jobs. This move marks ILJN Materials as the second-largest supplier for Volkswagen to make a multi-million euro commitment tied to the electric vehicle initiative, following Iberdrola. The Generalitat Valenciana is negotiating with other major suppliers to relocate to Parc Sagunt II, a 200-hectare zone reserved for the Gigafactory and allied enterprises.
ILJN Materials is part of a broader conglomerate of 62 firms connected with PERTE, a European support program for structural restructuring steered by Volkswagen to accelerate car electrification in Spain under the Future: Fast Forward initiative. Within this PERTE framework, Gestamp operates a factory in Almussafes, Iberdrola plans a 500 million euro investment to supply the Sagunt plant with renewable energy, and Lithium Iberia has announced an expansion plan in Extremadura to sustain a 30-year operation at the Las Navas project near Cañaveral. The Valencian company Órbita Ingeniería, which specializes in industrial machinery, also participates in the program, alongside major players such as Bosch and Técnicas Reunidas.
Led by Volkswagen, PERTE stands as the largest business coalition in automotive history, spanning eleven autonomous communities and covering the entire value chain of electric vehicles.
Catalonia had aimed to host a massive battery factory that would feed Sagunt, and the arrival of ILJN Materials helped attract additional utilities investments. The new Mont-roig del Camp facility is planned to cover about 30,000 square meters. The South Korean company will manufacture an electrofoil—a copper sheet thinner than a human hair that is a critical component of lithium batteries used in electric cars.
ILJN Materials, founded in Seoul in 1968, employs about 1,100 people globally and operates production sites in Iksan, South Korea, and Malaysia. Its customer roster includes major battery producers and automakers, with notable partnerships extending to LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, Northvolt, and Volkswagen. Northvolt itself is a Swedish battery maker partially owned by Volkswagen.
Following Sagunt’s announcement, ILJN decided to locate its Tarragona operation after Volkswagen disclosed plans for a southern European battery plant in Sagunt. Company representatives visited the Catalan town several times to assess site conditions, environmental factors, and communication needs. The final decision was reached in April after a visit by the ILJN Materials leadership team. The Generalitat Valenciana is set to publish support hotlines to assist foreign investors looking to establish a presence in the region.
The Tarragona plant is slated to begin operations in 2024, two years before Sagunt’s battery cell production resumes. The Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade welcomed ILJN Materials’ choice to base production in Spain for essential battery components destined for electric vehicles, noting it marks the first such European facility dedicated to these components.