Budapest gets green light from the EU on battery investment fund

The European Commission on Tuesday said it cleared EUR 89.6 million in state support for a EUR 1.2 billion expansion of Samsung SDI’s electric vehicle battery plant on the outskirts of Budapest.

In its justification, the EC said it had found the support for the project to be in line with European Union state aid rules. It said the project’s positive effects on regional development “clearly outweigh any distortion of competition” brought about by the state aid. The state support will contribute to regional development and job creation while preserving competition, the EC said.

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Hungary notified the EC of its intention to provide EUR 108 million in state support to the project in 2018, the body noted. The EC said its assessment had concluded that without the public funding the project would not have been carried out in Hungary or another EU member state, but in a third country.

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Source: MTI