Hungarian families say area risks becoming a ‘battery wasteland’ in wake of Chinese lithium plant, 8 September 2024

A Chinese battery plant near Debrecen city in Hungary keeps growing despite objections from locals and experts. 

“We are not against progress,” says resident László Nándor Horváth, a full-time father and activist. “But we would prefer another direction.” 

He isn’t alone in opposing the construction of Chinese Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited’s (CATL) lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant.

When CATL announced the construction of Europe’s largest battery plant in August 2022, the response in Debrecen was overwhelmingly negative. According to a survey by independent pollster 21 Kutatóközpont last year, 62 per cent of the 200,000-strong population were opposed to the factory.

Their concerns about the 550-acre site include environmental pollution, resource exploitation and foreign influence.

Civilians and opposition political parties organised protests, some with thousands in attendance. Horváth, who lives only two kilometres from the construction site with his disabled son, sued CATL in March 2023 and won: the court recalled CATL's licence for disaster management last November. 

Despite the outrage, construction continues and CATL is even planning to expand, according to Civil Forum Debrecen Association. The local activist group spotted plans for an additional assembly line in an August 2024 notice published by Debrecen municipal bureau...

Aside from energy, the CATL factory will require water and a workforce, both scarce in the area, he explains. CATL is already ferrying in workers from Asia, and will require almost 10,000 workers in total for production according to the Chinese company. 

The nearest town to the construction, Mikepércs, already experiences occasional power cuts because of the construction...

The devices measure pollution from fine particulates (PM2.5), responsible for nearly 4 million deaths globally according to the US-based National Center for Biotechnology Information. Near the factory, it can reach harmful levels at 50µg/m3, double the EU recommendation...

“We understand that electric vehicles are environmentally friendly,” Kozma says. “But they won’t do us much good if CATL turns our neighbourhood into a battery wasteland.”

Little is known about what substances CATL will use during the production, assembly and disassembly of the batteries, Kozma points out. At least one impact study fails to list any materials, citing trade secrets...

CATL, which has 12 operating production sites around the world, responds that it does not have any plans to expand its Debrecen plant. 

“As a global leader of new energy innovative technologies, we are expanding our global footprint to speed up e-mobility and energy transition in Europe and the world,” the company says in a statement to Euronews Green.

It says that closed production technology at its Debrecen site will ensure it meets all national and EU environmental regulations and emission limits, which will be continuously monitored in cooperation with the authorities.

“Proper filtering and cleaning equipment and technical solutions will prevent leaks,” it adds. “The production activity is carried out in closed, properly insulated buildings, so soil and groundwater pollution are not expected from the activity.”