Debrecen4U April 22, 2025

CATL focuses on renewable energy

Head of Public Affairs at the company’s Debrecen plant, Balázs Szilágyi  gave a presentation at ENERGOexpo. He stressed that they are taking care to act in the most prudent way in terms of the local water base, biodiversity and land use.

At the event, Balázs Szilágyi explained that his company’s profile is based on two types of activities: the production of batteries for electric cars and energy storage systems.

For the time being, only the former will be produced in Debrecen, divided into 3 units (cell, module and battery pack production). 

As he said, module assembly has already started in a rented building in our city. But they will also complete their cell factory this year, with full production expected from next year. 

In these two segments (batteries, energy storage systems), CATL is the world’s largest company, with a global share of nearly 38 percent last year. He believes that their products and developments generally address societal needs. 

“Let’s go beyond smoking factory chimneys when generating energy,” as he put it.

He added that they want to get to the stage where renewable energy can provide them with electricity through their energy storage systems.

They are also working on greening transport, and want to see the exhaust pipe of cars disappear and be replaced by electric versions. They are also keen to ensure that the materials used in their products are sourced in a way that has no harmful natural or social impacts (this applies to everything from mining to raw materials).

He also added that sustainability is very important to CATL, which is why they publish separate reports on carbon emissions.

“We are also careful to be as prudent as possible in terms of local water, biodiversity and land use,” Balázs Szilágyi stressed.

It is also very important for them to be as energy efficient and green as possible. So is transparency, and providing adequate information about their activities.

On the issue of carbon neutrality, he emphasised that they try to find solutions to achieve the lowest possible carbon emissions at the design stage. But they are also looking at this in the organisation of production, the operation of factory buildings and suppliers.

To confirm this, he explained that by last year, 9 of their factories worldwide were carbon neutral.

Source and photo credit: dehir.hu