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Samsung SDI has announced the largest ever research and development investment in Hungary with the financial support of the state, creating dozens of high value-added jobs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Thursday.
At the announcement of the Samsung SDI investment, the minister said that the company’s HUF 22.5 billion (EUR 58.3 million) research and development project will further increase the capacity and safety of new electric batteries, while improving the economics of production.
The government will provide HUF 5.5 billion (EUR 14.2 million) in funding to help create dozens of high value-added jobs.
This is the largest ever R&D investment in Hungary with financial support from the government,
he stressed.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (R) and Choi Jun Ho, Managing Director of Samsung SDI. Photo via MTI/Kovács Attila
The minister also pointed out that the company will contribute to the change of dimension of the Hungarian economy and will further strengthen its cooperation with Hungarian universities that already offer training in the field of electric batteries and automotive engineering.
Péter Szijjártó emphasized that Europe is living through years of crisis, but the automotive revolution is moving ahead unabated.
For our country, it is particularly important not only to maintain economic growth but also to protect jobs, to be successful in the competition for electric car investments,”
he emphasized.
Photo via Facebook/Samsung SDI
“As the traditional automotive industry will decline in the future, the number of traditional automotive jobs will also decline, so if we are not able to bring electric car investment to Hungary, Hungarian people could lose their jobs in droves,” he added.
He affirmed, however, that
Hungary has successfully entered this race with Samsung SDI, now the second largest company in the country, employing 6,000 people, having made its first investment in this field.
The company started construction of a battery factory in 2016, producing 50,000 batteries per year for European electric car manufacturers from the second half of 2018. By 2022, its turnover had reached €4 billion 75 million, with its workforce of 2,667.
Finally, the minister said that
South Korean companies are the fourth largest investor community in Hungary,
and bilateral trade turnover increased by 75 percent in the first half of this year, exceeding five billion euros.
Electric battery factories play a major role in Hungary’s economic safety. The country has become a meeting point for Eastern and Western investment, which is a guarantee for long-term economic growth and a hedge against uncertainties. All three German premium car brands have factories in Hungary, and many of the world’s largest electric battery manufacturers such as China’s Eve Power, BYD, and CATL are already present.
Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Samsung SDI