So far, many battery cells for German e-cars have been transported by ship China – now the Chinese battery giant CATL also supplies its batteries from central Germany. In Arnstadt, Thuringia, CATL commissioned its first factory in Europe for up to 30 million battery cells a year on Thursday.
The Chinese group is one of the largest waste producers in the world. He rushed in with the factory Germany in the production of one of the most important components for electric vehicles. The German automobile manufacturers also have major battery projects and are planning to invest billions, but they are still a long way from putting them into operation.
“Here we have a gigafactory that has not been seen anywhere in Western Europe,” said Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (66, left). Experts also speak of a giant factory for lithium-ion cells that CATL is currently ramping up. Up to 1.8 billion euros flow into the project, said CATL Europe President Matthias Zentgraf. “This will be the first large-scale cell production in Western Europe.”
European car manufacturers are to be supplied, among others bmw is according to its own information a customer. BMW then uses the cells to manufacture batteries itself, for example in Dingolfing and Munich. Not only electric car manufacturers are interested in the flagship project, the police also stopped by a good two weeks ago – on suspicion of illegal work.”
New factory building with six production lines
The mighty hall with solar systems on the roof, in which the first production line for cells is located, is about half a kilometer long. According to Zentgraf, five more are to follow in the coming months. 400 specialists from China alone were flown in to start up the plant together with around 600 of their German colleagues. In 2018, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL/Ningde) reserved around 70 hectares in the logistically well-located Erfurter Kreuz industrial estate.
A few months later than planned due to Corona, the international team manufactured the first cells under series conditions shortly before Christmas 2022. Zentgraf expects the regular start of series production in mid-2023. By the end of the year, 1800 to 2000 jobs are to be created – there is still a lot of staff being sought.
The plant was initially designed for a capacity of 14 gigawatt hours, which would probably be reached early next year, said Zentgraf. An annual production of around 30 million cells is possible. “Depending on the size of the batteries, this can be used to equip 185,000 to 350,000 electric cars.” Approval is expected for up to 24 gigawatt hours – it will be used depending on the cell requirements of the automotive industry. Another plant is planned in Hungary.
Concern about the future China strategy in the country
And what is the German car industry doing? Volkswagen has been building its first battery cell plant in Germany in Salzgitter since the summer of 2022, in addition to projects abroad. A center for the group’s own battery company PowerCo is also being built there. Together with various partners, Mercedes-Benz plans to build several cell factories worldwide by 2030, which will have a total production capacity of 200 gigawatt hours. Batteries are to be assembled from the cells in nine Mercedes factories, including one in Kölleda, Thuringia. Also the Opel-Mother Stellantis is on the road with partners and relies on three factories, including in Kaiserslautern, where the start is planned for 2025.
At the CATL plant opening there were also concerns about the future China strategy of the federal government and the EU. The CATL project is a new type of cooperation, said Thuringia’s Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD). “The Chinese bring their technology to Europe.” Not far from the plant, Thuringia is building a battery research center – “there is joint research”. He hopes that the discord in the debate about a new China strategy “is only a temporary phenomenon,” said Zentgraf.