Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia (CATT), CATL’s first plant outside China, has received its second partial approval for commissioning of battery cell production from the state of Thuringia.
The permit allows an initial capacity of 8 GWh per year.
Construction of the plant, also said to be Germany’s first battery factory, is in the final stage and installation of machines is under way for the first cells to be made 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,” the company said in a statement.
Local authorities hope the project could spark a Battery Valley Thuringia as the first of CATL’s suppliers have established facilities there as well.
CATT is two buildings: G1, an existing building purchased from another company and where cells are assembled to modules, and G2, a newly-built plant where cells will be produced. The latest approval permits cell production in G2.
With clean rooms, technical cleanliness and constant humidity, the plant is almost as complex as a chip factory.
It generates part of its own electric power from rooftop solar power panels in an effort to produce sustainably.
CATL broke ground on this German plant in 2019 and it will create 1,500 jobs.
Planned investment is EUR1.8 billion and production capacity is planned at 14GWh, adding 500 jobs later
The plant will supply unnamed “major carmakers” in Germany.