Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) began trial production at its newly built battery-cell factory in Debrecen, Hungary, on September 22, 2026, after fulfilling the required preconditions. Trial operations started on the facility’s first two production lines and are intended to set up, optimize and validate production equipment and manufacturing processes before series production begins.
CATL announced plans for its second European battery plant in Debrecen in August 2022. Construction of the first cell building began in summer 2023, and the building was equipped for production by spring 2026. After receiving an occupancy permit in August 2026, the company obtained the relevant permits and completed the conditions required under its integrated pollution prevention and control permit.
Before the occupancy permit was issued, the Hajdú-Bihar County Government Office conducted regular inspections of the facility following earlier issues that had caused concern among local residents. According to CATL, authority representatives confirmed that the company had addressed all deficiencies identified during the permitting process.
The Debrecen site has also manufactured battery modules since autumn 2024, producing 537,000 modules to date. Once all facilities are completed, the plant is planned to have 100 GWh of capacity and become CATL’s largest manufacturing base outside China. The site is intended to supply European automakers that have established electric vehicle production capacity in Hungary.
CATL said employee health, workplace safety and environmental factors will be monitored throughout the trial production phase. The company plans to proactively submit the monitoring results to the relevant authority and continue cooperating with government agencies during the plant’s ramp-up.
Source: catl.com
