The lithium-ion cells and modules from this plant will be used by European electric vehicle makers.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) has officially announced today a huge new battery factory investment in Europe.
The Chinese maker plans to invest €7.34 billion ($7.5 billion) to develop and construct a 100 GWh EV battery factory in Debrecen, Hungary. Once approved at the investor meeting, the construction of the first manufacturing facilities will begin before the end of 2022.
That would be the second battery factory of CATL in Europe, as the first one (much smaller) is expected to start manufacturing in 2022 in Erfurt, Germany (8 GWh yearly initially and 14 GWh yearly in the future). This project began in 2019.
According to CATL, the plan in Hungary will make cells and modules (unreleased chemistry) for European car manufacturers in Europe. The location is in relatively close vicinity to several factories of CATL’s consumers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis, and Volkswagen. Mercedes-Benz specifically stated that it is the first and the largest consumer of the new initial range of the factory.
The firm explains that the new 100 GWh factory will “enable it to better cope with the battery demands of the European market, improve its global production network development, and help accelerate e-mobility and energy transition in Europe.”
Renewable electricity sources will power the plant. The Chinese investment (the biggest ever in the region) is expected to make up to 9,000 occupations or positions.
According to the statement, there is also a possibility to “establish facilities for battery materials in Europe,” which means that we might notice more CATL funding.
CATL founder and Chairman, Dr. Robin Zeng, stated:
“There is no doubt that our plant in Debrecen will enable us to further sharpen our competitive edge, better respond to our European customers, and accelerate the transition to e-mobility in Europe. The greenfield project in Hungary will be a giant leap in CATL’s global expansion, and also an important step in our efforts to make an outstanding contribution to the green energy drive for humankind.”
Foreign Affairs and Trade Hungarian Minister, Péter Szijjártó, stated:
“Both the global and the European economies have been faced with tremendous challenges recently. We in Hungary have a clear goal to be a local exception from the continental recession. The best tool to achieve this goal is to attract state-of-the-art investments in the most revolutionary branch of the automotive industry, namely electromobility. We are proud that CATL decided to execute the biggest ever greenfield investment in the history of Hungary. We have recently become one of the leading battery production sites of the world and with this huge investment we further strengthen our position.”
CATL battery factory in Hungary
- Location: Debrecen, Hungary (area of 221 hectares)
- Funding/Capitalization: €7.34 billion ($7.5 billion)
- Range: 100 GWh of lithium-ion cells and modules annually
- Chemistry: N/A
- Building: start before the end of this year
- Consumers: many, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis, and Volkswagen
