Chinese battery giant CATL is negotiating with European governments, including Hungary, for potential battery factory locations. This move aims to address environmental concerns linked to battery production and disposal.
The company signed a preliminary agreement to acquire land in Debrecen, Hungary, marking the start of its factory project there. The initiative involves a €7.34 billion investment with an initial capacity of 40 GWh, expandable to 100 GWh, enough to power over 1 million vehicles.
Production at the Hungarian factory is expected to commence in the latter half of 2025, following CATL's existing factory in Germany, which manufactures battery cells and modular products for European automakers.
In April, Volvo Cars and CATL signed a memorandum for strategic cooperation in battery recycling, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of electric vehicles throughout their lifecycle. Volvo plans to recycle retired batteries from its electric vehicles and those discarded during production, extracting over 90% of key materials like nickel and cobalt for new battery production.