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Several public sources have recently published information suggesting that the world’s largest battery manufacturing company, the Chinese Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), may set up a factory in Hungary – Világgazdaság reports.
South Korean business news website Bloter.net shared details of the project in early May. It reported that CATL is buying a 200-hectare site in Hungary to set up a plant as part of its international expansion.
As this figure is not from an official source it should be treated with caution.
However, citing sources familiar with Hungary’s domestic battery market, the newspaper reported that the facility will be built in Debrecen and will be CATL’s next European manufacturing base.
The transaction for the site, which is likely to be about 20 kilometers from the site of the BMW factory already under construction, has been completed, archaeological excavations have started and the design of the factory is underway.
According to an industry summary quoted by Autopro.hu, CATL has produced almost 97 gigawatt-hours of capacity from lithium-ion batteries in 2021. This gives it a share of around 33 percent of the global market, putting it in the first position. On an annual basis, the company recorded growth of almost 170 percent.
Featured photo illustration via catl.com