Australian company to build battery factory in New Clark City

Australian investment firm St Baker Energy Innovation Fund is committing an initial $10 million to jumpstart a mega battery manufacturing plant within the 120-hectare Filinvest Innovation Park-New Clark City in Tarlac, a province in Central Luzon.

The company said the factory will produce lithium-ion batteries meant for home energy storage applications, small electric vehicles and their charging stations.

The plant will start commercial operations in the first quarter of 2024 with an initial output of 150 megawatts per hour. It will then rise to full production capacity of 1.2 gigawatt-hours by 2030.

“StB Giga-Factory is positioned to capture the once in a century transition towards a renewable energy electricity system, in which lithium-ion batteries are expected to play a pivotal role,” said Australian businessman and the company’s founder, Trevor St Baker, during the lease agreement signing event on Monday.

The batteries will target markets in the Philippines, other parts of Asia, Australia, the United States and India amid rising demand for energy storage systems.

St Baker, through a company called StBattalion, will hire 150 Filipino engineering, technical, finance and administrative personnel at the StB Giga-Factory.

StBattalion is the first locator at the Filinvest Innovation Park of the Gotianun family’s Filinvest Land Inc. It is located within the 9,450-hectare New Clark City project of the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).

“Filinvest Innovation Park-New Clark City warmly welcomes StBattalion as its very first locator. Their presence underscores the park’s vision as a leading sustainable business hub,” Filinvest Land president and CEO Tristan Las Marias said during the event.

“At Filinvest, we are committed to building large-scale, integrated projects to become the stage for diverse developments, including businesses that will catalyze progress and employment for the local community,” he added.

StBattalion sealed a five-year renewable lease of two ready-built factory units, each spanning 2,500 square meters, according to the property developer.

“The arrival of StBattalion at Filinvest Innovation Park is a testament that New Clark City, along with the whole of Clark, is primed for investments due to its strategic location, vast natural resources, and large pool of human capital,” BCDA chair Delfin Lorenza said.

“We are excited to welcome StBattalion, whose goal is aligned with ours, which is to enable a sustainable and smart community that contributes to the nation’s social and economic growth,” he added.