Hyperdrive

CATL's German Battery Plant Lifts Prospect of Electric Car Push

  • China battery maker to invest EU240 million in German plant
  • BMW lines up for order from 16 gigwatt plant in Thueringia

CATL's headquarters and manufacturing complex in Ningde, Fujian Province, China.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd.’s opening of a factory in Germany may mean a faster roll out of electric vehicles on the nation’s roads.

CATL and the state of Thueringia in central Germany Monday announced a plan to build a 16-gigawatt lithium-ion plant close to the region’s capital Erfurt. The Chinese company will invest 240 million euros ($282 million) to build the 173 acre site by 2022 and create about 600 jobs, the state said.