Hungarian CATL factory to open in spring

CATL is expected to begin serial production at its battery factory in Debrecen, Hungary, in March or April of next year. According to Matt Shen, the managing director responsible for European operations, the exact timing still depends on the necessary permits.

Catl lfp batterie shinxing pro iaa — Image: CATL

As Shen told Hungarian media, module assembly in Debrecen already began in 2024, and to date, the local factory has produced 30,000 modules for electric vehicles. However, these modules still contain battery cells supplied from other CATL factories, as the company’s own cell production in Hungary is not yet operational—though it is ‘in the home stretch,’ according to Shen.

Production lines are being continuously installed to enable series production to start as soon as possible, Shen added. To achieve this, the current workforce of 1,000 employees will be increased to 1,500 in the first quarter of next year.

In Debrecen, CATL plans to produce a ‘battery designed for the European market,’ which is expected to enable a range of over 750 kilometres, according to Shen. While the Chinese manufacturer has not specified which customers will receive these cells, when the battery factory was announced in 2022, Mercedes-Benz was named as a major customer for the plant. The CLA, built in Rastatt, achieves a range of over 750 kilometres, and on the MMA platform, the new GLB with EQ technology will also be unveiled on Monday—like its predecessor, the EQB, which is manufactured in Kecskemét, Hungary.

One of the pending approvals is the environmental permit. CATL submitted a third version of its application for the Debrecen plant this year, as Balázs Szilágyi, Head of Public Affairs at CATL Hungary, explained at the press conference. “Compared to the previous version, the total amount of emissions has been cut by 43 per cent, drinking-water and energy use in production have each been reduced by a third,” Szilágyi stated.

Currently, the plant is not yet connected to the local water supply network, but this is expected to be completed in the spring. Until then, a mixture of rainwater and water from the Tisza—a tributary of the Danube—is being used. Later, this will be replaced by a combination of this ‘surface water’ and treated wastewater.

ungarnheute.hu

This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition.