Chinese battery maker Eve Energy said it will build a lithium-ion plant in Thailand to serve the Southeast Asian market.

The announcement is the latest in the global rush to invest in such plants ahead of the expected boom in electric vehicle production.

Eve signed a memorandum of understanding with Energy Absolute (EA), Thailand’s largest renewable energy company.

The Huizhou-based company said the two would set up a joint venture to build and operate a Thai plant with an initial capacity of at least six gigawatt-hours a year, making it a medium-sized facility by recent standards.

Eve will be responsible for the construction, operation, sales, and new product research, and EA will focus on liaising with the local government to receive subsidies, financing, and product marketing.

In its press release, Eve said it would build a “digital and intelligent factory” that would help upgrade Thailand’s automotive industry.

The company is the third largest lithium-ion battery technology provider in China with a total capacity of around 360GWh.

For its part, EA said the factory would use “advanced automated production process technology and low cost of raw materials from Chinese partners” to keep prices down.