CATL's German battery plant powers up local green transition

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A new plant set up by China's leading battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL) in Germany to produce batteries for electric vehicles has brought significant economic and environmental benefits to the country and beyond. 

Germany has long been a pivotal force in the global car industry, renowned as the birthplace of the automobile. With the drive towards greener mobility, it wants more manufacturers to build factories and advance domestic electric vehicle production.

CATL, headquartered in the city of Ningde, east China's Fujian Province, started to build its first overseas base in 2018 in the German state of Thüringen.

"The battery making business is something you do very close with your customers. It's an eye to eye thing. And its important to have the short supply chains in the long term. We have had our first cooperation here in Germany starting in 2012. And then we decided to come here and start producing batteries in Germany and Europe in 2018," said Caspar Spinnen, public relations manager for CATL Germany.

This localized production offers multiple advantages. With batteries representing around 40 percent of an electric vehicle's price, local manufacturing reduces expenses and minimizes transport emissions. Importantly, it also creates jobs and fosters knowledge transfer.

"We are bringing a lot of new know-how here into the region. Battery manufacturing is still quite a new subject in Europe and that also comes with some added benefits.  We are also helping train people on the ground for future generations of battery production here on site," Spinnen said. 

This investment aligns with the EU's ambitious climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030.

But with not enough European battery producers to satisfy demand, Germany and other EU countries appear open to Chinese investment.

The plant aims to build hundreds of thousands of batteries for electric vehicles across the continent and beyond, to power the European Union's growing EV industry. 

CATL's German battery plant powers up local green transition

China is willing to strengthen communication, enhance trust, eliminate interference, and deepen cooperation with Canada to bring bilateral relations forward on a steady and sound track in solid strides under the new circumstances, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Beijing on the day.

Referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China, the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years, Wang said the trip marks a milestone in bilateral ties and signals a turning point in the relationship.

The leaders of the two countries will hold meetings and talks, which are expected to open up new prospects for bilateral relations, said Wang.

The world today is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the impact of China-Canada relations transcends the bilateral scope, Wang noted.

Wang said that China and Canada have different social systems, stemming from different historical and cultural heritage, and based on the choices of their respective people.

He urged both sides to view each other in a rational and amicable manner with an inclusive mindset, handle issues on the basis of mutual respect, focus on the agenda of cooperation, and send positive messages so as to foster optimism, inject greater confidence into the development of bilateral relations, and jointly build a new type of strategic partnership between China and Canada.

Anand said the new Canadian government attaches great importance to relations with China. She also added that Prime Minister Carney looks forward to engaging in in-depth exchanges with Chinese leaders during the visit to set the course for the development of bilateral relations, resume dialogue in various fields, pursue more mutually beneficial outcomes, enhance coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs, and further advance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

China ready to work for steady, sound ties with Canada: FM