The environmental authority of the Hajdú-Bihar County Government Office has ordered the suspension of operations at Semcorp Hungary Kft., the Chinese manufacturer of lithium-ion battery separator films in Debrecen, citing environmental pollution concerns.
According to a statement released on Wednesday, the county government’s water management and water protection authority had previously required the company to carry out accredited sampling from monitoring wells, the stormwater drainage system and a retention reservoir at the site.
Although Semcorp completed the sampling, it submitted the results and evaluation after the deadline, resulting in a fine of one million forints. The company has challenged that decision in court.
The authority said that the delayed test results revealed exceedances of regulatory limits for several metals and metalloids, including aluminium, barium, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, lithium, manganese, nickel, lead, copper, iron and arsenic. Concentrations exceeded both legal thresholds and the baseline water quality measurements established before operations began.
As a result, the water protection authority ordered Semcorp to install waterproof lining in its stormwater retention reservoir, conduct quarterly monitoring of groundwater wells, expand the range of substances tested, and reimburse procedural costs exceeding two million forints.
The case is separate from an earlier pollution incident involving firefighting foam. However, the environmental authority has also launched additional proceedings, including ordering environmental remediation, requiring a detailed site investigation, and initiating an investigation into operating conditions that may have deviated from the company’s permit.
” The environmental authority is suspending Semcorp’s activities. There are no exceptions. Compliance with the rules is mandatory for everyone,” Debrecen Mayor László Papp wrote on Facebook.
Earlier on Wednesday, following reports of the latest contamination findings, the mayor stated that anyone failing to comply with Debrecen’s environmental regulations should face criminal consequences.
The decision marks a significant escalation in official action against one of the major battery industry suppliers operating in Debrecen, a city that has become a key hub for Hungary’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle battery manufacturing sector.
