CATL Begins European Production Of EV Batteries In Germany

CATL's first factory outside of China, Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia GmbH (CATT), began its serial production of lithium-ion battery cells in December, as planned, marking another milestone in CATL's worldwide journey.

The first batch of lithium-ion battery cells rolled off the newly installed production line in CATT's G2 building under series conditions. The remaining lines are being installed and commissioned in preparation for the production ramp-up.

The German made cells passed all of the worldwide product tests, demonstrating that CATL is capable of initiating cell production and providing cells to its European customers from a localised factory.

Matthias Zentgraf, CATL's president for Europe says, "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''. He goes on to add that "We are working hard to ramp up production to full capacity, which is our top priority for the coming year”.

The state of Thuringia, Germany granted CATT a permit for battery cell production in April, allowing for an initial capacity of 8 GWh per year. In Q3 2021, the factory has already begun module production in its G1 building.

CATL intends to invest up to 1.8 billion Euros in total to attain a production capacity of 14GWh and create up to 2,000 new jobs in Germany in the future.