World’s 9th biggest Chinese producer comes to build a battery plant in Hungary

China’s battery producer Eve Power will build its first plant in Europe in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday.

Eve Power, the ninth-biggest battery maker in the world, will invest around 400 billion forints (EUR 3.7bn) in the plant which create over 1,000 new jobs, Szijjártó said, adding that the government was providing 14 billion forints to support the project. He added that German car maker BMW had asked Eve Power to supply a car plant it is building in Debrecen with next-generation batteries from a local production facility. The foreign minister said the plant would be environment-friendly, covering 95 percent of the water used from purified waste water and ground waters.

He added that the government would finance new developments in Debrecen, such as modernisation of its water supply and sewerage system, using a budget of 108 billion forints. “I think those rightfully worried about water will be satisfied,” he said. “It is a clear governmental objective to make Hungary a global forerunner of environment protection … we want to make Hungary one of the countries doing the most to protect the environment and save the planet,” he said. “Without electric cars Europe’s green objectives cannot be met, and electric cars cannot be used without batteries,” he said. Without electromobility “the cause of environment protection would be lost, and we would lose the fight against global climate change,” he insisted.