Chinese battery maker CATL announced on September 22 that it has started trial production of battery cells at its new factory in Debrecen, Hungary, marking a key step toward supplying European automakers from a local manufacturing base. The first two production lines are now being tested as the company prepares the facility for series production.
The Debrecen project, announced in August 2022, is CATL's second European battery plant after its facility in Germany. Construction of the first cell building began in summer 2023, and equipment installation was completed by spring 2026.
After securing the plant's occupancy permit in August 2026 and completing requirements under its Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control permit, trial operations officially began on September 22. The site has already produced 537,000 battery modules since autumn 2024.
With a planned capacity of 100 GWh, the Debrecen factory will become CATL's largest manufacturing base outside China, serving major European automakers that have built significant EV production capacity in Hungary.
