CATL announces plans to build battery plant in Hungary

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited announced on Friday that it will invest 7.34 billion euros ($7.5 billion) to build a 100 GWh battery plant in Debrecen, Hungary.

The plant is also the second battery plant in Europe following its German factory. Covering an area of 221 hectares in the Southern Industrial Park of Debrecen, the project will supply both cells and modules to European automakers.

Debrecen is located at the heart of Europe, and with close proximity to some auto plants of its customers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen, CATL said that the Debrecen plant 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.

To build a sustainable and circular battery value chain, CATL is also examining the possibility of joining forces with local partners to establish facilities for battery materials in Europe.

"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," said Robin Zeng, founder and Chairman of CATL.

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said: "Both the global and the European economies have been faced with tremendous challenges recently. 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 can further strengthen our position."