Our Company

Thuringia as the first European CATL production site

We have been building our first European site at the Erfurter Kreuz interchange since 2019, and since December 2022, the plant has been supplying German car manufacturers with battery cells and modules manufactured in Thuringia. We are investing €1.8 billion in this project and have created 1,700 jobs at the Erfurter Kreuz interchange. In addition, we are training skilled workers ourselves, thereby building up important expertise in a key technology for mobility and the energy transition.

  • Robin Zeng, Chairman and CEO of CATL

    “CATL ist nicht nur ein Hersteller von Batteriekomponenten; wir sind ein Anbieter von Systemlösungen und setzen uns dafür ein, ein Technologieunternehmen für eine emissionsfreie Zukunft zu werden.“

Europe as an important market for CATL

As a globally thinking company, a location in Europe is strategically important for CATL. In the rapid growth of the European market for e-mobility, we also see an opportunity for us to grow as a company and expand our customer base in an area with a high concentration of automotive manufacturers. With our plant in Arnstadt, we ensure production close to our customers. This will intensify our customer relationships, increase our delivery reliability and at the same time save CO2 and transport costs. In addition, we want to use our technology to help the EU achieve its goal of carbon neutrality.

  • Our products

    In Germany, we initially focus on the production of lithium-ion batteries. CATL battery cells are prismatic and vary in size and capacity performance depending on the vehicle type.

    Our batteries are particularly innovative because CATL has managed to combine high energy density with fast charging time and maximum range.

  • Our production

    Our independent production in Germany is based on two main pillars.
    In cell production, the first step is to manufacture various cell types for different customers. The individual cells are then processed into modules in module production and sent to our customers, who then install the modules in their vehicles. Depending on the customer and vehicle type, there are different numbers of cells in a module.

  • Our central distribution centers

    To complement our independent production and to meet our high customer demand, we have established Central Distribution Centers in Erfurt and Magdeburg. Here we receive already produced battery cells from our plants in China. These are repacked, tested and then shipped to our customers.

  • Our final product

    Several battery modules are installed in the e-vehicles as so-called packs. Due to their special characteristics, our products cover the needs of a wide range of car manufacturers. We are proud to list all well-known European automobile manufacturers as our customers.

Over two decades of experience

CATL brings together several decades of expertise in battery production. This experience enables us to mass-produce cells of the highest quality with the lowest defect rate—we are talking about “parts per billion” here. This makes us a valuable partner for the automotive industry and one of the cornerstones of the electric transport revolution.

Research - our key to continuous development

CATL is making a significant contribution to research and development in battery technology in Europe: since 2020, the company has been working closely with Fraunhofer IKTS, supported by the Thuringian state government. An essential part of this collaboration is the Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC). This Chinese-German partnership also includes the establishment of a digital test center at Erfurter Kreuz. The collaboration began with the BattLife project and was transferred to the follow-up project BattForce, which will continue until 2027. The initiative focuses on calculating data models for recording battery life and problems.

Research that moves things forward – CATT and Fraunhofer IKTS develop batteries of the future

At Erfurter Kreuz, we are advancing battery research together with Fraunhofer IKTS. The goal of our cooperation is to develop long-lasting, high-performance energy storage systems for sustainable mobility. In our state-of-the-art test center, we analyze the behavior of batteries under realistic conditions—a milestone for the further development of electromobility.
With the BattForce project, we are further expanding the cooperation that has been in place since 2020. The focus is on new technologies for precise life cycle analysis – a decisive step towards resource-saving production and a successful energy transition.

Future prospects for us and the state of Thuringia

As a technology location in the heart of Germany, Thuringia represents the optimal location for us to build our first European plant. For Germany, the EV battery industry is a completely new branch of industry. However, in Thuringia and its research facilities, we see the potential and support to keep expanding our manufacturing capacities in the future, so that both customers and the state of Thuringia can benefit. Of course, the very good infrastructure (central location in Germany, proximity to two highways and freight stations) also played a decisive role in the Erfurt interchange, as we can quickly reach the customers we supply from here. 
By locating the plant in the heart of Europe, we are driving forward the growth of the electric car industry in the region and support the promising structural change in the Thuringian automotive industry. We are also promoting research and further development of battery technology in Chinese-German cooperation - one driver of this is the recently established "Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC)" at Erfurter Kreuz. As a member of the Thuringian community, CATT is thus supporting joint efforts to build a sustainable Europe.

What benefits will the settlement of CATL provide to the federal state of Thuringia?