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.