On April 4, Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia GmbH (CATT), CATL’s first plant outside of China, received the 2nd partial approval for the commissioning of a new plant for battery cell production from the state of Thuringia, Germany, marking a significant milestone for CATL’s global footprint expansion despite the pandemic. 

At the ceremony held in CATT at the Erfurter Kreuz industrial area, Anja Siegesmund, Thuringia's Minister of Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation, and Wolfgang Tiefensee, Thuringia's Minister of Economy, handed over the permit to Matthias Zentgraf, CATL’s President for Europe, allowing an initial capacity of 8 GWh per year for the plant. 

The construction of the plant, which is also Germany’s first battery factory, is in the final stage and the installation of machines is in full swing so that the first cells can roll off the assembly lines by the end of 2022. 

“CATT provides a fundamental impetus for the urgently needed energy transition, and we are glad to be the first company to receive approval to manufacture batteries ‘Made in Germany’,” said Zentgraf, adding that the cooperation with the authorities during the approval process worked in an exemplary manner.

E-mobility in Germany is currently gaining immense momentum, and the state needs companies that are committed to taking sustainability and conservation into account right from the production stage, said Siegesmund.

"For Thuringia, CATT is one of the most important industrial investments in recent decades," said Tiefensee. “At the same time, the project could be the initial spark for the emergence of a 'Battery Valley Thuringia,' as the first batch of CATL’s supplier companies have settled around the area.”

CATT consists of two buildings: G1, an existing building purchased from another company and where cells are assembled to modules, and G2, a newly-built plant by CATT and where cells will be produced. The approval on Monday was issued to permit cell production of G2. 

With clean rooms, technical cleanliness and constant humidity, the plant is almost as complex as a chip factory. Meanwhile, the plant generates part of its power from the solar power panels on the rooftop of the building in an effort to produce sustainably.

CATL broke ground on its German plant in 2019, and it is scheduled to start cell production by the end of 2022, when a total of 1,500 jobs will be created in Germany. 

With a total investment of 1.8 billion euro, CATL plans to achieve a production capacity of 14GWh and create 2,000 jobs in Germany in the future.  

Located at the heart of Germany, the plant is poised to provide high-quality products and services for major carmakers in Germany, thus promoting the electric mobility and energy transformation in Europe.