Hungarian court orders shutdown of Samsung battery plant after civil lawsuit
After nearly two years of litigation, a Hungarian court has ruled in favor of local environmental groups and annulled the operating permits of Samsung SDI’s battery factory in Göd. The decision means that the company must suspend production until new permits are issued.
Two years of legal battle
The decision was first reported by the Environmental Management and Law Association (EMLA) and the Göd-ÉRT Association, the two civil organizations that brought the case to court. EMLA, which provided legal representation for the Göd residents, confirmed that the Budapest regional court had annulled all environmental operating permits of the factory.
According to the Göd-ÉRT Association, the court found that the company cannot continue battery production without valid permits. The group said that the authorities must now formally order the suspension of operations and launch a new, transparent permitting process.
“It is a huge success and joy for us that the court has annulled the modified environmental permits of the Göd plant,” the organization wrote on social media, calling the verdict a major victory for local residents.
The civil group also recalled that the court had previously granted temporary legal protection, which should have already stopped production at the time. Despite this, Samsung SDI continued operating its factory.
Why the production wasn’t stopped earlier?
At the time, the regional government office argued that a complete shutdown was not necessary and that the company only needed to reduce production to a level that was no longer subject to licensing. The factory therefore continued to operate, and later that year it regained its license in a second-instance procedure.
Now, Göd-ÉRT hopes that the authorities will enforce the new ruling and that local residents, civil organizations and the town’s leadership will be allowed to take part in the new permitting process.
The court found serious procedural errors
The factory’s environmental permit was originally issued several years ago by the Pest County Government Office, but the Göd-ÉRT Association challenged it in 2023. The group argued that the authority had failed to properly assess the plant’s noise and pollution levels, as well as the handling of hazardous waste generated during production.
The court agreed with the plaintiffs and annulled both the original permit and its later modifications. One of the main reasons was that the authority had amended the permit several times – approving new emission points and capacity increases – without fully informing the court. The judges ruled that this was a procedural error, and therefore the permits could not remain in force.
What happens to the workers?
The future of the Samsung factory’s workers remains uncertain, but the civil groups emphasize that their goal is not to close the plant entirely.
“We want to assure everyone concerned about the Samsung workers that as long as the company complies with Hungarian law, their jobs are not at risk. However, based on the known facts and the official fines, it is not unreasonable to conclude that Samsung SDI has endangered – and may still be endangering – their health, and sometimes even their lives,” the Göd-ÉRT Association wrote.
The group added that their work aims to ensure safe operations for everyone – local residents, Hungarian employees, and the more than half of the workforce who are foreign workers.