Debrecen4U October 5, 2026

CATL Seeks Stronger Ties with Debrecen

CATL executives spoke to Médiacentrum Debrecen about increasing the proportion of Hungarian employees, Debrecen’s role in Europe and supporting local communities. Alongside ramping up production, the company plans to rely increasingly on local workers and further strengthen its social engagement in Debrecen and the surrounding settlements.

As reported earlier, Médiacentrum Debrecen took part in an exclusive tour of CATL’s battery cell plant in Debrecen. The company allowed members of the press to enter the facility for the first time, and following the tour, CATL executives answered journalists’ questions at length. They revealed a number of details about the future of the Debrecen plant, the composition of its workforce, the company’s European plans and its local engagement that had previously received less attention.

CATL aims to increase the proportion of Hungarian employees

CATL currently employs around 2,900 people in Debrecen. The proportion of employees recruited locally is 52 per cent; this does not, however, mean that all of them are Hungarian: this category also includes workers from third countries, such as the Philippines. Plant Director Qin Liang also spoke in detail about the role of colleagues who have come to Debrecen from China. He said they would stay in Hungary for a limited period, primarily helping to launch production, ramp up the production lines and transfer their knowledge. The long-term goal, by contrast, is to employ as many Hungarian workers as possible.

Finding enough employees is currently proving challenging, however, which is why the company is also recruiting from third countries. According to Qin Liang, this is a contingency solution whose role could gradually decrease as the proportion of local workers increases. “If we can hire more local employees, we can reduce the number of workers coming from third countries. Everything depends on how many local people we can recruit and how many are willing to join us,” the Plant Director said.

In the longer term, the company intends to achieve a similar ratio to that at its German plant, where around 90 per cent of employees are now local and only 10 per cent have come from abroad. Qin Liang described the role of Chinese specialists as temporary: their task is to pass on the operational experience and technological knowledge required by their colleagues working in Debrecen.

CATL builds its European operations around Debrecen

The Debrecen plant plays an important role in CATL’s European manufacturing network. The company currently has three major sites on the continent. The plant in the Arnstadt area of Thuringia, Germany, has an annual capacity of 14 gigawatt-hours and, according to Managing Director Shen Feng, is already operating at full capacity. In Spain, CATL is building a new plant together with Stellantis. Construction is currently under way, while series production is expected to begin around 2027–2028, depending on the products to be manufactured.

Debrecen has a particularly important role within this European network. The local cell plant has a maximum annual capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours, all of which has already been fully allocated to customers, according to the company. In addition to cell production, CATL began manufacturing modules in the city in autumn 2024; around 540,000 modules have been produced since then. The Debrecen facility is also CATL’s largest production base outside China.

The company plans to supply leading European carmakers from Debrecen. The plant is being prepared to manufacture both nickel-manganese-cobalt, or NCM, batteries and lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries. “CATL Debrecen will become an important supplier to the European automotive industry. We are ready to develop our battery technology together with European carmakers, support regional recycling initiatives, establish a local renewable energy ecosystem and cooperate with educational institutions,” said Shen Feng. According to the Managing Director, the company’s latest products have already been developed specifically to meet the needs of the European market, with a focus on features including long range and fast charging.

CATL plans to involve 20 settlements in its community programmes

Alongside ramping up production, CATL also wants to build closer ties with people living in Debrecen and the surrounding area. The company has previously organised tree-planting initiatives, nursery-school programmes and donation drives, and has now drawn up a more detailed community engagement plan for the coming years.

Qin Liang revealed that the company plans to involve around 20 settlements, including Debrecen, in its programmes. The Plant Director would also like to meet personally with the mayors of the surrounding settlements to find out what is most needed in each community and which initiatives CATL could support. “We are not here simply to build a factory and produce goods. We also want to play an important role in community life and work more closely with local people,” Qin Liang stressed.

He also mentioned some specific ideas. In addition to supporting local football clubs, including children’s and youth teams, the company could contribute to road improvements or even church renovations. According to the Plant Director, these are not merely long-term plans: the list of programmes scheduled for October, November and December has already been drawn up.

The plant itself could become another means of opening up to the local community. During the press tour, the company presented its new visitor centre, which has been specifically designed to welcome external guests. The plans are for the facility to host not only professionals and journalists in the future, but also local residents and groups of students, giving them an opportunity to learn first-hand about the technology used at the plant and the battery cell manufacturing process. “We are ready to help local people get to know CATL better,” Qin Liang said.

Source and photo credit: dehir.hu