Eve Power to Build its 1st European Plant in Debrecen With an Investment of HUF 400 bln

Electric vehicles are the future of the automotive industry and Hungary is at the forefront of the “EV revolution” with several important investments made in the country in recent years. It is no wonder that the world's ninth largest electric battery manufacturer, China's Eve Power, picked the Hungarian city of Debrecen to build its first European plant with an investment of about HUF 400 billion.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that the company had come at the request of BMW to supply its Hungarian plant with a new generation of cylindrical battery cells, according to MTI. The state is providing HUF 14 bln in funding for the HUF 400 bln project, helping to create more than 1,000 new jobs. He also addressed the concerns of those afraid that the investment would negatively impact the local environment and water management.

He said that 95% of the environmentally friendly project’s water needs will be met from treated wastewater and surface water, and the company will recycle part of the process wastewater on site. He also noted that the government will finance further major developments in the city, such as the modernization of the water utility system, i.e. water supply and sewage disposal, to the tune of HUF 108 bln.

“I think that those who are rightly concerned about water here can be satisfied,” he said.

Szijjártó stressed that there are few issues in Hungary on which there is such a broad consensus as the importance of environmental protection.

“The government’s clear objective is to make Hungary a global leader in environmental protection. It is our clear goal that Hungary should be among the countries that do the most to protect the environment and preserve our planet,” he said.

In this context, he recalled the European decisions calling for a green turnaround and underlined that to achieve this goal, the most polluting sources must be eliminated, including the electrification of road transport, which is responsible for 14% of emissions.

“Without electric cars, the European Green Deal cannot succeed, and there are no electric cars without electric batteries. Then the cause of environmental protection and the fight against global climate change would simply be lost,” he pointed out.

The minister said that with demand set to increase tenfold by 2030, the question is where the electric battery factories will be built in Europe and who will benefit from them.

“The countries that can attract the construction of electric battery factories will have a long-term guarantee that their economies will grow,” he said, adding that there is huge competition for investment in the sector and countries are doing their best to attract it.

“When we say that they are doing everything, it certainly includes fair means and unfair means. Unfair means, for example, is misleading people, creating fear without any