Garnis, a Lithuanian maker of battery systems, partly owned by Gintautas Paluckas, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party’s candidate for prime minister, says it buys small quantities of Chinese lithium batteries for its products through intermediaries in Poland and Germany, but claims it is looking for alternative suppliers.
According to the company, there are currently no alternatives to Chinese lithium batteries.
“Garnis has a policy of minimal dependence on China and sources its components from reliable European suppliers. So far, we have the initial contacts with suppliers and subcontractors from Lithuania, Poland, and Germany," Garnis told BNS on Wednesday.
“The lithium batteries used in the products are produced globally by Chinese manufacturers without practical substitutes and there are currently no alternatives to bringing a competitive product to the market,” the company added
Garnis CEO Andrius Aglinskas told BNS on Wednesday that the company buys China-made lithium batteries through intermediaries in Germany and Poland. In his words, established at the beginning of the year, the company has bought about 40–50 units of this component this year for several thousand euros.
“We are only bringing one of the components from China, which is the chemical lithium iron phosphate battery itself, which has no software or anything in it. It is a simple battery with a plus and a minus,” Aglinskas said.
In his words, Garnis currently only produces prototypes in small quantities, and they are not for sale. He does not rule out that once real products are produced, the batteries needed for them could be purchased directly from China.
“Our priority is to produce a fully European product. In the future, we plan to have a Zero China policy, and this is our policy. Unfortunately, nobody produces lithium batteries in Europe today,” the Garnis CEO said, adding that the company is negotiating with emerging lithium battery producers in Europe “with a view to ending our dependence on Chinese producers as soon as possible”.
Garnis says Lithuania and neighbouring EU countries are its key markets, adding that it has no plans to expand into China “in line with the company’s shareholders’ views”.
According to the Center of Registers, Paluckas owns 49 percent of Garnis, and Mindaugas Milašauskas owns 51 percent. The company currently employs 3 people, according to Lithuania’s social insurance fund Sodra.
Milašauskas, who leads Emus, a home appliances, electrical, and electronics manufacturing company co-owned by Paluckas, told BNS earlier this week that the company has a “Zero China policy”, but still imports non-critical components from China, which account for less than 1 percent of raw material purchases.
Paluckas has a 51-percent stake in Emus.
Paluckas told BNS in an interview last week that his government would seek to restore full diplomatic relations with China, without making excessive concessions.
Relations between Lithuania and China soured in 2021 after the opening of a Taiwanese mission in Vilnius, forcing Beijing to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Lithuania and impose trade restrictions.
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