CATL launches personnel recruitment in Germany

About two years after the start of construction, CATL plans to hire more employees for its battery cell factory near Erfurt in the next few weeks. The workforce is expected to increase from around 180 employees from Thuringia at present to about 225 by the end of the year.

This was announced by CATL’s European manager Matthias Zentgraf to the dpa. In addition, there would be 115 employees from China, who would be deployed in the construction of production facilities, among other things.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the plant took place in mid-October 2019, and the completion of the first construction phase was announced at the time for the beginning of 2022. It is not known whether there have been any delays since then – for example due to the consequences of the pandemic. Zentgraf only told dpa that a total of six production lines will be installed in the new building in the “Erfurter Kreuz” industrial estate and that the energy supply will be 100 per cent green electricity.

The plant near Erfurt will be the first CATL production facility outside China. The figures surrounding the construction of the battery cell factory are well known: The Chinese are investing 1.8 billion euros in the site in the medium term and creating up to 2,000 jobs. The capacity of the plant is to be 14 GWh initially (by 2022) and up to 24 GWh in a later expansion stage. In addition, according to earlier information from the Thuringian government, CATL will also invest significantly in research and development, quality control and high-quality services. In return, the state is making subsidies available. There is talk of “support within the scope of possibilities under state aid law”.

Meanwhile, CATL has set up its European headquarters in a former building complex of the insolvent SolarWorld Industries GmbH. At the time of the purchase in April 2019, it was said that the logistics, warehouse and administration would be located there in the vicinity of the future production plant.

Incidentally, BASF is one of CATL’s first partners in Germany. Both sides announced a strategic partnership in the field of solutions for battery materials in late summer. This includes cathode materials and battery recycling – especially for the CATL plant under construction near Erfurt.

automobilwoche.de (in German)