CATL Plans Carbon Neutral Production at Its Debrecen Plant

Hungary Today 2023.10.27.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) aims to build a complete European battery manufacturing value chain with a focus on sustainability, they announced at the third Hungarian Battery Day on October 26. Jason Chen, CEO of CATL Europe, highlighted that the company’s battery plant in Debrecen (eastern Hungary) will be equipped with the latest manufacturing technologies available, in line with the drive for carbon neutrality.

The main objective of the international event, Hungarian Battery Day, is to bring together the players in the fast-growing battery industry and to launch a discussion on opportunities and challenges for cooperation in Hungary and the region, writes Magyar Nemzet.

The conference is an important annual meeting of battery companies and professionals, where participants discuss the carbon neutrality targets for the development of the Hungarian battery value chain up to 2050.

“Our company actively supports the carbon neutrality targets set by the international community, and we are proud to have already achieved carbon neutrality at four of our battery plants. Our aim is to transfer this experience to Debrecen. Our plant in Hungary will enable us to efficiently serve the needs of the European market, develop our manufacturing network, and contribute to the uptake of electric transport in Europe and the successful realization of the energy transition,” stressed Jason Chen.

At #REPlus23, CATL showcases its advanced zero-carbon factories, an ambitious carbon neutrality plan set for 2035, and an innovative battery passport for transparency. Also stop by to calculate & offset your carbon footprint with @UN‘s CERs. Let’s champion #ClimateAction! pic.twitter.com/O2EGYXSoAz

— CATL (@catl_official) September 14, 2023

The event was moderated by Balázs Szilágyi, CATL’s Public Affairs Manager. He led a panel discussion on the new EU Battery Regulation, published in August 2023.

CATL is an international leader in innovative renewable energy technologies.

The company now has extensive expertise thanks to its 13 production sites and five research and development centers. The company has been the global market leader in terms of performance of electric car batteries sold for six years and is recognized by international car manufacturers. It focuses on environmentally friendly manufacturing, the use of renewable energy sources, and sustainable logistics processes in all its plants.

Fact

Last September, the Hungarian government announced that CATL would be the biggest investment in the country’s history, worth up to EUR 7.9 billion and creating 9,000 jobs in Debrecen (eastern Hungary). Due to strong opposition from Debrecen residents, the project was granted an environmental permit under very strict conditions in February this year. Protests have been going on ever since. Some already talk of the project as a poison factory, due to the impact on the security of water supply, while others fear the impact on the environment. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Greenpeace, two global green organizations, have previously backed the project publicly, saying countries can benefit from the investments as long as they do not harm the environment.

Further negotiations are expected in the future; however, it must be noted that Europe’s green transition is unthinkable without batteries and battery factories.

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Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image via Twitter/SFC Talk