China’s Jiangsu Reliance Energy Tech plans to invest €100.5 million in a battery factory, adding a new technology-focused project to Serbia’s manufacturing sector. The company, the Serbian government and the Municipality of Inđija signed a framework agreement on August 31. Reliance has described the planned facility as its first manufacturing plant outside China.
The factory is intended to produce batteries for drones, humanoid robots, unmanned vehicles, power tools and household appliances. Construction has not yet been reported as started, while production capacity, investment phases, incentives and Serbian supplier participation remain undisclosed.
Serbia seeks to diversify manufacturing
The project comes as Serbia looks to expand beyond its established automotive industry, which includes components, wiring systems, tyres and metals and employs tens of thousands of workers. European carmakers are restructuring and adapting supply chains to electric vehicles, while rising wages are gradually reducing Serbia’s advantage in labour-intensive manufacturing. Reliance’s focus on high-power lithium-ion batteries could bring greater technology and engineering content, with potential applications in industrial automation, mobile robotics and autonomous equipment.
Inđija develops a technology investment base
Inđija, located between Belgrade and Novi Sad, is already an important manufacturing and logistics location and is also being considered for a broader robotics industrial park linked to China’s Minth Group.
Minth has started humanoid-robot production in Šabac together with AGIBOT. The first phase opened on August 29 with an initial investment of about €20 million. Longer-term plans have included potential annual production of up to 20,000 humanoid robots and robotic dogs, although those figures remain targets rather than current capacity. There is no confirmed agreement for Reliance to supply Minth or AGIBOT, but the battery and robotics projects operate in related technology segments.
Local production and investment execution remain key
Serbia already has capabilities in metal processing, electronics, industrial automation and quality control that could support higher-value technology manufacturing. For Reliance, future milestones will include land and permitting, construction, equipment installation, recruitment and the start of commercial production. The company has not disclosed annual output, product mix or customer contracts.
The eventual level of local procurement, engineering employment, technology transfer and battery-system development will determine how deeply the plant becomes integrated into Serbia’s economy. Serbia’s location and trade links with the European Union could also provide Chinese manufacturers with proximity to European customers, while operations remain exposed to changes in EU trade policy, rules of origin and industrial-security requirements.
