STB GIGAFACTORY, Inc. said its factory in New Clark City will start operations by July, and hopes to expand its capacity to the equivalent of two gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of products within the next four years.
“We’re projected to go live in July, and then in August we’ll have a big inauguration,” according to Dennis Chan Ibarra, chief executive officer of Australian-funded StB GigaFactory.
StB GigaFactory produces batteries for energy storage backup for solar photovoltaic for residential, commercial, and industrial use.
“We’re going to accelerate our plans to triple the volume to 2,000 megawatts. So, it has two GWh of capacity, and that’s world-class scale,” he said.
“Our initial target is to get to 2 GWh in 4 years, at the maximum, and it could be accelerated depending on the market,” he added.
StB GigaFactory is the first locator in Filinvest Land, Inc.’s Filinvest Innovation Park in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac. It hopes to export 70% of its output to Australia and Southeast Asia, with some of its output to be distributed within the Philippines.
“First shipments will be to Australia and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, as we have a good order for the Philippines,” he said.
“We have a very large residential market in Australia this year, and then next year, we are ramping up for the North American market,” he added.
For next year, the company plans to go into electric vehicle products. Plans to enter this market had to be deferred because of the need to undergo certification.
“Right now, I need to certify the factory because I think automotive takes a lot of certifications … but we’ll have the certifications ready by next year,” he said.
Once StB GigaFactory reaches target capacity, the company will have invested around $35 million in the Philippines.
According to Mr. Ibarra, the company’s investment commitment in the factory was among the deals announced at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in March, during which President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. obtained P86 billion worth of business deals. — Justine Irish D. Tabile