A battery manufacturing plant near Tatabánya, Hungary, has been ordered to suspend production in one of its facilities after blue contamination was detected in a nearby watercourse. Authorities have launched an environmental investigation into the incident at Volta ESH’s factory in Környe, following reports of pollution on 30 October.
Battery plant shut down due to environmental risks
According to Tatabánya’s municipality, a local resident reported blue discolouration in the Szentgyörgy stream and the battery plant’s rainwater drainage ditch. An official inspection subsequently identified visible contamination along a stretch of approximately 100 metres.
The company acknowledged that the pollution originated from its premises. On 4 November, the Komárom-Esztergom County Government Office, acting as the environmental authority, ordered the immediate suspension of all production in the plant’s Hall 101.
The facility will only be allowed to resume operations once the source of the contamination has been identified, the necessary repairs have been completed and experts have confirmed that the system is leak-free. A separate regulatory decision will also be required before production can restart.
Contaminated water removed as investigation continues
Volta ESH said it began environmental remediation on 31 October, alongside efforts to stop the leak. Temporary barriers were installed to prevent the pollution from spreading, and approximately 30 cubic metres of contaminated water were pumped out of the stream.
The company stated that no technological liquids or other pollutants had escaped from its site since the morning of 31 October. However, authorities said the elimination of the contamination source and the prevention of further leakage had not yet been independently verified. The precise cause of the incident remains unclear. Nikolett Árvay, a Tisza Party MP representing the area, said the leaking solution was suspected of containing copper sulphate.
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The manufacturing plant started operations in late 2020
The environmental authority launched a comprehensive review on 3 November, with a 60-day deadline for its completion. Tatabánya’s municipality has stressed that, although the pollution occurred in neighbouring Környe, the battery factory’s proximity and the protection of local water resources make the incident a matter of concern.
Volta ESH is a subsidiary of South Korean company Solus Advanced Materials. In early 2022, the European Commission approved EUR 24 million in Hungarian state aid for the company, equivalent to approximately HUF 8.7 billion. The investigation is expected to establish the full circumstances of the leak and assess its potential environmental consequences.
Read also: Hungary to launch new environmental watchdog in 2027, battery industry oversight among its key tasks
