China's CATL to build battery plant in Hungary

China's Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world's biggest maker of batteries for electrical vehicles, said Friday it plans to build a huge new factory in Hungary, its second in Europe.

German auto maker Mercedes-Benz said it would be the plant's "first and biggest customer".

CATL said in a statement that it will invest 7.34 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in the 100-GWh (gigawatt hours) plant in Debrecen in east Hungary, with construction set to begin this year, once shareholders have approved it.

Hungarian officials say it will be the country's biggest investment project.

CATL is already building a battery plant in Erfurt in Germany.

Mercedes-Benz executive board member Markus Schaefer said the Hungarian plant would be "another milestone for the scale-up of our EV (electric vehicles) production together with our key partners."

Production of the batteries for Mercedes' models will be carbon-neutral, Schaefer said.

Covering 221 hectares in an industrial park, the plant will also supply other European automakers, CATL said, without naming them specifically.

CATL's other customers include BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen.

"There is no doubt that our plant in Debrecen will enable us to further sharpen our competitive edge, better respond to our European customers, and accelerate the transition to e-mobility in Europe," said CATL chairman Robin Zeng in the statement.

Under a policy of "eastern opening," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sought to forge close ties with Russia and China in recent years, drawing criticism from the opposition in the EU member country.

"Today, we put an end to more than two years of negotiations, which resulted in the realisation of the largest investment ever in the history of our country," Hungarian Foreign Ministry senior official Levente Magyar said in a video posted on Facebook about the project.

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