Sustainable economic development, industrial safety, environmental protection in Debrecen

Mayor László Papp, Deputy Mayor Lajos Barcsa, and Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs held a press conference on the topic.

I.

Debrecen is one of the winning cities of the 21st century in Europe. With the start of mass production of purely electric vehicles at the BMW Debrecen Group Palnt in 2025, it will become one of the centres of European mobility.

Although Debrecen is the country’s most economically successful city, it is repeatedly at the centre of political attacks because of its battery factories. In 2025, the mass production of BMW’s purely electric car will start, primarily based on the battery industry and its future development. There is no electric car without a battery, so anyone who attacks the battery industry is attacking the most significant economic achievement of Debrecen in the past 100 years, BMW’s investment in Debrecen, and wants to make it impossible. This would mean a financial catastrophe for Debrecen.

In Debrecen, all sectors of the economy are on a growth path. Still, at the same time, the defining sectors of the 21st century, electromobility and energy storage, will drive the development, sustainably strengthening the economy and thereby creating jobs for families in Debrecen and the surrounding area. Industrial developments in Debrecen must be implemented and operated in full compliance with environmental requirements and industrial safety regulations. In cooperation with the authorities, the city leadership considers this a priority.

According to the news published in recent days, the hysteria against the battery industry is being re-initiated by MIAKÖ and the Tisza Party, even though in the past 2 years, the local government, the government office, and the government, and not least the companies involved, have achieved serious results in the issues of concern regarding the licensing procedures, construction, and future operation of battery factories, as well as their impact on the environment.

In the past 2 years, significant environmental, emission, water base protection, and safety results were achieved, which the extremist, pressure-driven, and foreign-funded civil organisations are generally unwilling to acknowledge. They claim the same thing as 2 years ago, even though the circumstances have changed radically.

II.

The results achieved:

• NMP emissions: The NMP emissions of the CATL and EVE Power battery plants have been reduced to one-tenth of the original application (2 mg/m³). In the previous permit, it was capped at 20 mg/m³.
• During the amendment of the ECO PRO environmental permit, the permitted emission value for air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, will be 0, compared to the legally permissible 35 mg/Nm³ for the Debrecen factory and 0 mg/Nm³ for solids related to heat production instead of 5. The permitted value for dust is 0.2-1 mg/Nm³ instead of 5, and for organic substances 0.4 mg/Nm3 instead of 20.
• Use of grey water and reduced water demand: Grey water is a mixed mixture of purified wastewater and dilution water with a composition according to technological requirements. The purified wastewater from the Debrecen wastewater treatment plant is currently discharged entirely into the Tócó stream. By using greywater technology, a portion of the treated wastewater from the Debrecen wastewater treatment plant is reused and utilised as greywater in the plants of large-scale battery industry investments, thus promoting sustainable water management. As a result, drinking water only needs to be provided for 5% of the total consumption.
• CATL is implementing a new cooling technology solution for its Debrecen factory, the introduction of which will significantly reduce the factory’s technological water demand. The reduced technological water demand will essentially be provided by treated wastewater. The company management will present the details of the new technology in the near future.
• CATL will include the use of treated wastewater in the upcoming license amendment, and EVE Power has already submitted the license application in this way.
• In the factories of battery industry players located in the Southern Economic Zone and the Northwestern Economic Zone, the technological wastewater generated during production is first sent to the pre-treatment plants within the plant sites, from where, after pre-treatment and strict quality control, it can be discharged into the dedicated industrial wastewater discharge network, which releases the technological wastewater separately from the urban communal system to the Debrecen wastewater treatment plant.
• Facility fire departments: Besides BMW, CATL and EVE Power are also required to operate their facility fire departments.
• Decree of the Minister of Energy: Based on the decree of the Ministry of Energy of October 2024, the strictest rules within the European Union apply to the emissions of industrial facilities into the air in our country. The significantly stricter provisions will apply to new investments, i.e., those for which the environmental licensing procedure has not yet been initiated, from the legislation’s entry into force and ongoing licensing from the 1st of January 2027. For existing factories, the new, much stricter emission limits will apply from the 1st of January 2028.
• Baseline measurements: The environmental protection authority requires all chemical plants to do baseline measurements. Semcorp carried out the first in April 2021, EcoPro in August 2022, and CATL in January 2023. Baseline measurements must be repeated annually until the plants start up.
• The survey examines the geological and subsurface environment in the given investment area.
• The baseline air quality has been recorded at several measurement points in the past 2 years, in Mikepércs as well, in Debrecen on Mikepércsi Road and in Mészáros Gergely Garden (all of which are relevant to the Southern Industrial Park area). CATL will now carry out the baseline measurement for the third time. EcoPro is also now measuring the baseline air quality before they set off. It can be said that the baseline measurements required by law have been completed.
• Environmental Monitoring System: Unique in Hungary, we have created an Environmental Monitoring System (abbreviated in Hungarian as KER) independent of the plants, building on the knowledge base of the University of Debrecen. With 16 complex measurement stations, KER forms a unified, territorially connected system covering the entire city, which monitors the state of air, soil, water, noise, and biodiversity 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The measurement stations will begin their test operation in the first quarter of 2025. The working groups already have some measurements necessary to record the baseline. Thanks to their activities at the University, in 2024, the assessment of the baseline, separate from the measuring stations, with accredited measurements began.
• Installation of solar panels: A solar park with MVM PLC on ​​52 hectares has been created next to the Southern Economic Zone and the airport. The 28.8 MW park saves more than 33,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. BMW is building one of the largest solar parks in the country on its territory with its 43 MW capacity. Based on current plans, EVE Power Hungary Ltd. plans to build a solar park with an installed capacity of 13.2 MW to reduce the facility’s electricity consumption.
• Adoption of the Green Codex: The most complex environmental protection program in the country, the city’s Green Codex, has been completed. The code contains 50 measures that cover all areas of life, from the production and storage of green energy to the continuation of the Water for the Great Forest, the Civaqua program, and the distribution of rainwater barrels. The program is among the first in the country to align with the 5.0 National Environmental Protection Program adopted by the Parliament.
• A new rail and truck terminal is being built to relieve the burden on residential areas: the Debrecen Logistics and Truck Terminal will be built in the Northwestern Economic Zone, south of the BMW Group factory. It will provide safe and secure parking for 260 trucks at various security levels (196 silver and 64 gold) as defined by the European Secure Parking Organisation (ESPORG) and other related services. The Truck Terminal aims to reduce truck traffic through the city, which it achieves due to its optimal location.
• Transparency: All documents related to official procedures are published on the city’s websites (debrecen.hu and debreceniakkugyar.hu), including official decisions, questions received in the procedures and official responses. During the recent public hearings, stakeholders asked more than 200 questions. The authority answered each question separately, covering 128 pages.

III.

The secret of Debrecen’s economic success is that it provides investors with a predictable, stable, transparent and supportive investment environment. There is no difference between German, American, Chinese, or other nationalities. There is no difference between investors in the eyes of the authorities. German, American, or Chinese investors must follow the same laws. There is no difference, no bargaining. The Debrecen Government Office acts with exemplary rigour during the licensing procedure for all investments.

Social Responsibility and Scientific Collaboration

In addition to sustainable operations and industrial safety, companies settling in Debrecen greatly emphasise social responsibility and scientific collaborations.

In Debrecen, CATL has participated in several initiatives; in addition to supporting the needy and environmental projects, the company would like to support local cultural and sports activities in the long term. CATL has also sponsored several significant cultural events in Debrecen, including the Debrecen Drive, the Campus Festival, and the Flower Carnival are among them.

To train domestic employees, CATL signed a strategic agreement with the Debrecen Vocational Training Center in February 2024 to launch dual training, and the company also signed a strategic agreement with the University of Debrecen in October 2024.

The University of Debrecen, Wuhan University, and EVE Energy signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2024, which serves the sustainable development of the lithium battery industry and establishes joint research and development projects and practical bases in Debrecen.

The city leadership is convinced that it is possible to develop an economy sustainably by complying with and enforcing environmental requirements and laws. In the interest of the citizens of Debrecen, they have promised to reassure them in industrial development that they will fully comply with and keep. The city’s revenues have increased three and a half times thanks to the economic successes of recent years, and the growth in the coming years will be even more dynamic with the start-up of large factories. This development will allow the city’s leadership to spend more of the wealth generated by the city on the people of Debrecen so that everyday life in Debrecen is characterised by development and prosperity while people can live safely.

Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu