The world’s ninth largest electric battery manufacturer, China’s Eve Power, will build its first European plant in Debrecen with an investment of about HUF 400 billion, and as a result, more than a thousand new jobs will be created – Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, announced.
The head of the ministry reported that the company came at BMW’s request to supply its Hungarian factory with new-generation cylindrical battery cells. The state provides HUF 14 billion in support for the HUF 400 billion projects, thus helping to create more than a thousand new jobs.
He said that 95 percent of the water needs of the environmentally friendly investment will be provided from treated wastewater and surface water, and the company will also recycle part of the technological wastewater on site.
He also announced that the government will finance new significant developments in the city, for example, the water utility system, i.e. water supply and sewage drainage, will be modernized in the amount of HUF 108 billion. “I think that even those who are legitimately concerned about water here can be satisfied,” he said.
Péter Szijjártó emphasized: In Hungary, there is such a broad consensus on a few issues regarding the importance of environmental protection.
“The government’s clear goal is for Hungary to be a global leader in environmental protection. Our goal is clearly for Hungary to be among the countries that do the most to protect the environment and preserve our planet,” he declared.
In this regard, he recalled the European decisions requiring a green transition and underlined that in order to achieve the goal, the most seriously polluting sources must be eliminated, which also requires the electric transition of road transport, which is responsible for 14 percent of emissions.
“Without electric cars, the European Green Agreement cannot be a success, and there are no electric cars without electric batteries (.) Then the cause of environmental protection is simply lost and the fight we are waging against global climate change is lost,” he pointed out.
The minister believed that since the demand will increase tenfold by 2030, the only question is where the electric battery factories will be built in Europe and who will benefit from them.
“A country that can attract the construction of electric battery factories will have a long-term guarantee that its economy will grow,” he stated, adding that the competition for investments in the sector is huge, and countries will do everything to win them.
“When we say that they are doing everything, there are correct means and incorrect means. For example, misleading people and groundless fear-mongering are not correct means,” he said.
“It is clear that the safety of their own place of residence is the most important thing for people. This is a completely legitimate feeling, but taking advantage of this in an unfair way is no longer correct and cannot be tolerated,” he underlined.
“Therefore, I would like to state here that the people of Debrecen have nothing to fear because of the construction of electric battery factories. In Hungary, we apply much stricter environmental protection standards than in Europe,” he said.
“Anyone who does not agree to comply with these rules simply cannot build a factory in Hungary,” he added.
Péter Szijjártó stated: “The German-Chinese cooperation taking place here also clearly shows how much better it is if the world is about interconnection and not about blocking”.
“I thank Debrecen, the city leaders of Debrecen, for always keeping the interests of the people of Debrecen in mind, for not allowing themselves to be misled, and for ensuring that Debrecen’s development will be unbroken in the years to come,” he concluded his speech.
According to Eve Power’s announcement on Tuesday, the factory will be built on 45 hectares in the North-West Economic Zone reserved for BMW suppliers by 2026. The company promises to install world-class knowledge and market-leading technology in Debrecen, so the battery cells produced here will also meet the highest quality requirements. The factory will have a production capacity of 28-gigawatt hours (GWh) per year.
The company will produce a new type of high-performance battery cells with a diameter of 46 millimeters for electric BMWs, which will be smaller, lighter and 20 percent denser than those currently used, which will increase the range by 30 percent. These 6th-generation batteries will have a 30 percent faster charging speed.
The company uses solar panels and an energy storage system for energy-efficient production, and carbon emissions will also be continuously monitored. Eve Power has long-term cooperation with suppliers that produce some battery elements, such as cathode precursors and anodes, with green energy, they wrote.
MTI
Main picture: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó gives a speech at a press conference on the Chinese Eve Power investment in Debrecen on May 9, 2023. The world’s ninth-largest electric battery manufacturer is building its first European plant in Debrecen with an investment of around HUF 400 billion. MTI/Zsolt Czeglédi
