Government official says debate over Debrecen battery factory is not about environmental protection

State secretary Csaba Dömötör said the debate over a battery plant in Debrecen, in the east of the country may “appear” to be a matter of protecting the environment, but is “really” the result of “intensifying economic competition” in a video posted on Facebook on Sunday.

Dömötör said the problem isn’t the construction of the battery plant, but the left wing’s involvement in the campaign. “The only thing that would be worse is if they’re getting money for it from abroad, let’s say in dollars,” he added.

He noted that new European Union rules are pushing the automotive industry in the direction of electric vehicles, pointing to a European Commission proposal to allow the registration of only zero-emission vehicles from 2035. That has resulted in “enormous competition” for production capacity, he said, adding that now is the period when decisions are being taken on where to build EV plants.

As those EVs will need batteries, the battery industry is picking up, he said, adding that 15 battery plants have been announced in the United States in the past two years, and big battery plants are already operating in France, Italy and Spain. Competition has started in the region, as Romania and Czechia aim to boost battery production, and the biggest battery plant in Europe is in Poland.

• read also – This is where Tesla’s products could be built: Hungarian city is the TOP 1

Hungary is “in the running” and if investments materialise, the country could become the third-biggest battery maker by 2030, creating “many thousands of jobs” and establishing an “important bridgehead” for the new branch of industry, he said. A battery plant in Debrecen China’s CATL will build is part of that plan, he added.

The CATL plant will make batteries for locally-produced cars, too, such as ones that will be produced at the BMW plant under construction in Debrecen, he said. The investment will create 9,000 jobs and generate “enormous tax revenue” for the city “for decades”, he added.

He said CATL has built the same kind of plant in the German federal state of Thuringia, which is governed by left-wing parties who “embraced” the project. Why is the left wing in Debrecen calling the plant “environmentally destructive” when the plant in Thuringia means clean energy and jobs, he asked.

Read alsoNo more battery factories to be installed in Hungary? National referendum initiative submitted