CATL Starts Battery Cell Production In German Plant – First Outside China

Leading global battery supplier CATL has announced that its cell factory in Germany has begun deliveries. Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia GmbH (CATT), the first plant of CATL outside of China, has kicked off serial production of lithium-ion battery cells in December as scheduled.

CATL said that this marks another milestone on its global journey. The company mentioned that the first batch of lithium-ion battery cells rolled off the newly installed production line in Arnstadt under series condition in CATT’s G2 building.

The battery maker mentioned that the installation and commissioning of the remaining lines are in full swing for the production ramp-up.

The locally produced cells passed all tests that are required of CATL’s products globally, which proves CATL is capable of starting cell production and supplying cells to its European customers from the local plant.

Matthias Zentgraf, President for Europe, CATL, said, ” We are working hard to ramp up production to full capacity, which is our top priority for the coming year.”

The German Expansion

CATT received the permit from the state of Thuringia for battery cell production this April. The company is allowed for an initial capacity of 8 GWh annually. In the third quarter of 2021, the company had already started module production in its G1 building.

With a total investment of up to EUR 1.8 billion, CATL informs that it plans to achieve a production capacity of 14GWh and create up to 2,000 new jobs in total within Germany in the future.

Prior to the development of the new manufacturing unit in Germany, CATL already had signed strategic agreements with leading carmakers that would include SAIC Motor Corp, Geely, BMW and Volkswagen.

The company also announced recently, that it will be supplying 10 GWh of CATL’s energy storage equipment over a three year period to FlexGen, a leading US integration services and software technology provider.