The complex will ultimately have a production "capacity equivalent to 70 GWh per year, enough to equip nearly one million electric vehicles annually", according to operator Cobco, a joint venture between the Moroccan royal family's holding company Al Mada and the Chinese firm CNGR Advanced Materials.

The first phase of the project will produce nickel-manganese-cobalt precursor cathodes, "essential components for batteries used in electric vehicles and stationary energy storage", Cobco said in a statement.

The venture will eventually comprise three "complementary" projects, it added, including a facility for refining critical metals and recycling old batteries.

China has become a global leader in electric vehicle battery production, while Morocco has recently invested heavily in renewable energy, which currently accounts for 38 percent of the electricity produced in the country.