China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest producer of lithium-ion batteries, has announced plans to build what would be Europe’s largest battery plant, in Debrecen, Hungary. At a cost of $7.5 billion, the plant would have an annual production capacity of 100 GW h of batteries—enough to power over 200,000 electric vehicles. About 40 gigafactories—the industry term for large-scale battery factories— across Europe are now planned to start up by 2035 as battery makers target the region’s projected surge in electric vehicle sales. Hungary, with its relatively low manufacturing costs and high concentration of automotive manufacturers, is fast becoming Europe’s battery production hub. CATL’s plant in Hungary would supply battery cells and modules to European carmakers, including to its customers BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, all of which have production in the country. It would be CATL’s second European plant; the company is set to begin building its

    To be built in Hungary, the plant could supply lithium-ion batteries for over 200,000 cars

    10.1021/cen-10029-buscon2-mercedes-gr1

    Mercedes-Benz, which has an electric vehicle with a range of over 1,000 km, is a customer for batteries from CATL's planned plant in Hungary. (Credit: Mercedes-Benz)

    electricvehiclebatteryAn electric vehicle from Mercedes-Benz.


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    Title :

    CATL plans Europe’s biggest gigafactory


    Additional title:

    C&EN


    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2022-08-22




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown