CATL ships its first European battery cells
Battery giant CATL has started shipments of lithium ion cells from its first plant outside China.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia (CATT) has started serial production of lithium-ion battery cells in December as scheduled from its G2 building in Germany. The installation and commissioning of the remaining lines are ramping up for production.
- CATL breaks ground on German battery gigafactory
- CATL to build second European battery gigafactory
- CATL expands battery deals in Europe
The locally produced cells passed all tests that are required of CATL’s products globally, which CATL says proves it is capable of starting cell production and supplying cells to its European car makers and customers from its local plant.
The company has signed deals with Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMW, Stellantis and Honda, and plans to build another battery plant in Hungary with a potential $7.6bn investment.
Cell production is a key part of the supply chain for electric vehicles but has challenges with environmental requirements. CATT received the permit for battery cell production from the state of Thuringia this April which allows an initial capacity of 8 GWh per year.
The plant has already started module production in its G1 building in Q3 2021 using imported cells.
With a total investment of up to €1.8bn, CATL says it plans to achieve a production capacity of 14GWh and create up to 2,000 new jobs in total within Germany in the future.
- €2bn BMW battery plant for Hungary
- Bosch teams with CATL on 48V hybrid battery production
- CEO Interview: Lars Carlstrom of Italvolt on battery gigafactories
“The production kickoff proves that we kept our promise to our customers as a reliable partner of the industry and we stay committed to Europe’s e-mobility transition even under very challenging conditions like the pandemic,” said Matthias Zentgraf, CATL’s president for Europe. “We are working hard to ramp up production to full capacity, which is our top priority for the coming year.”
