China's battery producer CATL officially launches Hungarian plant

Representatives sign an agreement during the CATL factory investment announcement ceremony in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sept. 5, 2022. Chinese battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) signed a real estate deal with the city of Debrecen in Hungary on Monday, marking the official launch of its second European plant. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

DEBRECEN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) signed a real estate deal with the city of Debrecen in Hungary on Monday, marking the official launch of its second European plant.

Covering an area of 221 hectares in the Southern Industrial Park of Debrecen, construction of CATL's Hungarian plant is scheduled to begin this year. With a total investment of 7.34 billion euros (7.28 billion U.S. dollars), the plant is expected to achieve a production capacity of 100 GWh.

CATL's investment is among the five largest greenfield (foreign) investments made in Europe in the last ten years, and the largest investment ever in Hungary.

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto speaks during a ceremony in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sept. 5, 2022. Chinese battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) signed a real estate deal with the city of Debrecen in Hungary on Monday, marking the official launch of its second European plant. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

"With this (investment), after China and Germany, we will be the third country in the world to have a CATL factory," said Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto.

The CATL factory in Debrecen will create 9,000 new jobs, according to Szijjarto.

Hungary benefits strongly from pragmatic cooperation with China, based on mutual respect and free from external influences, he added.

"The greenfield project in Hungary will be a giant leap in CATL's global network," said CATL's founder and Chairman Zeng Yuqun in a video speech.

CATL is committed to contributing to and integrating into the local community and the Hungarian electric vehicle (EV) industry, he added.

The company's new plant marks a milestone in moving towards a green future, Zeng said, and it will also contribute to Hungary's pledge to achieve carbon neutrality.

Yang Chao, Charge d'Affaires at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Budapest, said: "This project will further strengthen Hungary's leading position in the automobile industry, and will create a positive demonstration effect for China-Hungary and China-EU cooperation in the field of new energy."

The project is also a result of China-Hungary cooperation in the field of investment, and has injected strong impetus into bilateral relations, he added.

The battery plant will boost an already vibrant local EV ecosystem, dominated by Asian investors, according to the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA). (1 euro = 0.992 U.S. dollar)