CATL plans to open a new battery recycling plant in Europe

CATL, currently the world’s largest manufacturer of battery cells, is exploring the possibility of expanding its battery recycling business in Europe, according to a recent report. Sources consulted say the company is already in talks with several European governments to determine possible locations for these new facilities.

Today, Hungary appears to be the strongest candidate to secure this important investment from the Chinese company. This should not surprise us, since it is precisely in this eastern European country that CATL is already building new facilities alongside BMW in the town of Debrecen, where the Bavarian manufacturer plans to produce its new generation of electric vehicles, the Neue Klasse.

For its part, CATL’s operations director in Europe, Jason Chen, has pointed out that one of the goals of this future battery recycling plant is none other than mitigating the environmental concerns associated with battery production and subsequent disposal. Establishing a recycling infrastructure would allow CATL not only to process used batteries, but also to manage the waste generated during production.

CATL focuses its attention on Europe

The Chinese giant plans to consolidate its presence in Europe in the coming years, where it already operates a battery plant in the German region of Thuringia, to which the aforementioned new plant in Debrecen will soon be added. The company plans for the production capacity of the latter to reach 40 GWh per year in a first phase, with the possibility of reaching up to 100 GWh in later phases. Locating this future battery recycling plant near Debrecen would serve the company’s strategy of keeping transport routes between production and recycling plants short, in order to optimize efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

On the other hand, it is important to note that Germany cannot be ruled out as the site chosen for this recycling plant. The recent inauguration of a pilot recycling plant by Mercedes-Benz in Kuppenheim, in the Baden-Württemberg region, suggests there is clear interest in this type of facility in the country. Only time will tell what CATL’s final choice will be.