Chinese battery manufacturer CATL will ramp up production at its new plant in Arnstadt, Germany, by the end of the year.
The Chinese battery manufacturer CATL will ramp up production at its new plant in Arnstadt, Thuringia, in the second half of the year.
Matthias Zentgraf, European President said: in Arnstadt when receiving an operating permit from the state of Thuringia for the first expansion stage of the plant with an initial capacity of 8 gigawatt hours.
We are in the final spurt.
This corresponds to an annual capacity of batteries for about 120,000 electric cars, Zentgraf told the German Press Agency.
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According to him, 1500 employees from the region should be hired by the end of the year. In addition, there are several hundred experts from China, who are used in the installation of the production facilities and in the start-up phase of production, but do not remain permanently.
Already on board are about 500 employees from the region.
Currently, the interior work is underway in the more than half-kilometer-long new building complex, in which the Chinese company wants to invest around 1.8 billion euros, said the European President of CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology).
President of CATL said:
The production machines are already on their way to Arnstadt.
In its complexity, the battery cell plant is not inferior to chip factories – there are also clean rooms, for example. “Our customers are pushing for the fastest possible start.”
Thuringia’s Environment Minister Anja Siegesmund spoke of one of the largest battery cell factories in Europe with up to 2000 jobs in the future.
The example of CATL shows that fast approvals are possible despite time-consuming tests. Specifically, the second partial permit was granted in accordance with the Federal Immission Control Act. “That’s why you can get started now,” Siegesmund said. It is pleasing that the large hall roofs are used to generate solar power.
According to Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD), the investment decision of the Chinese group had a signal effect for east Germany as an industrial location. Intel, for example, also referred to CATL in its decision for Magdeburg.
The Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Europe, Carsten Schneider, called the battery factory an outstanding project in East Germany. The good reputation of the administrations, which quickly decided, also contributed to the settlement, Schneider told the dpa.
According to Zentgraf, a total of six production lines are to be installed and put into operation in the new building in the “Erfurter Kreuz” industrial estate by next year.
The plant near Arnstadt is CATL’s first outside of China. In the future, it will supply all major German car manufacturers with battery cells for their electric cars.
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