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

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarovic on Monday, who is in China to attend the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen City, east China's Fujian Province.

Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership, Han said that bilateral relations have achieved leapfrog development over recent years under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state. In May this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping met again with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, charting the course for building a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era.

China is prepared to join hands with Serbia in implementing the important consensus of the two leaders, cementing political mutual trust, leveraging the preferential arrangements under the bilateral free trade agreement, and deepening cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure and emerging industries, Han said.

China also encourages its enterprises to invest in Serbia and further advance China-Serbia friendly and cooperative relations, he noted.

Mesarovic said Serbia highly values high-level mutual trust between the two countries and reaffirms its adherence to the one-China policy. She expressed gratitude for China's strong support for Serbia's national development and said Serbia is ready to strengthen development synergy with China and continuously deepen cooperation in various fields to benefit the two peoples.

Chinese vice president meets Serbian Deputy Prime Minister