Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. — VNA/VNS Photo

MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos has inaugurated the first factory for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the Southeast Asian nation, calling it the "future" of clean energy.

As reported by a new site of the local media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation, the Australian-owned lithium-iron-phosphate factory aims to produce two gigawatt-hours of batteries per year by 2030, powering about 18,000 EVs or nearly half a million home battery systems.

"We have worked very hard and tried to do our best to bring this kind of technology to the Philippines with a clear recognition that this is the future," Marcos said in a livestreamed speech as quoted by the site.

As the first manufacturing plant in the Philippines for advanced iron phosphate batteries, it sets the stage for the nation to become a player in the global clean energy storage, said the leader.

Located in New Clark city north of Manila, the StB Giga Factory Inc. facility will create 2,500 local jobs and channel five billion PHP (US$89.2 million) into the economy each year. — VNS