According to “Serbian Economist”, the Chinese company Reliance plans to invest 100.5 million euros in the construction of a high-tech battery manufacturing plant in the Serbian city of Indija; the project is expected to create about 250 jobs, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on August 20.
According to him, the plant will produce batteries for unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous vehicles, robots, household appliances, and other devices.
“We are talking about a high-tech company, one of the world’s best in the production of batteries for drones, autonomous vehicles, robots, household appliances, and other devices,” the publication Danas quoted Vučić as saying, citing his interview with Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS).
A framework agreement with the investor is expected to be signed in late August 2026, and construction work could begin as early as late October.
Vucic clarified that Reliance was one of 14 companies with whose representatives the Serbian side held talks during his most recent trip to China.
Judging by the name and the product profile described by the president, this refers to Jiangsu Reliance New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., which operates under the Reliance Battery brand. However, the Serbian authorities have not yet publicly disclosed the full legal name of the investor in the Indija project.
According to Reliance itself, the company was founded in Changzhou, China, in November 2021 and specializes in the development and production of high-power cylindrical lithium-ion cells. It manufactures 21700 and 46-series cells based on NCA and LFP, and conducts research into semi-solid-state and solid-state batteries as well as dry-electrode technology.
The company explicitly lists drones, eVTOLs, humanoid and logistics robots, power tools, household cleaning equipment, electric motorcycles and bicycles, automobiles, backup power systems, and specialized equipment among the applications for its batteries.
Thus, if the project is implemented, India will gain another high-tech manufacturing facility related to the electrical engineering industry. The city has already established a large industrial cluster between Belgrade and Novi Sad. In particular, in April 2025, Europe’s first factory of the Japanese company JFE Shoji, worth over 50 million euros, began operations here; it manufactures motor cores for home appliances and the automotive industry.
The Toyo Tire Serbia plant also operates in Inji, and in 2026, the Japanese company began construction here on a new European research and development center worth 29 million euros.
