South Korea’s Ecopro starts nickel cathode plant construction in Hungary’s growing into e-mobility hotspot

South Korean battery materials producer Ecopro BM announced on Friday March 21 that construction works have started for its nickel cathode manufacturing plant in Debrecen, Hungary

For Ecopro’s first overseas plant, the facility will use the company’s pioneer nickel-based cathode technology and is expected to have an annual capacity of 108,000 tonnes of cathode material for electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries.

The $801.69 million project was originally announced in December 2021 and all the necessary permissions have been granted.

Debrecen is becoming an attractive e-mobility technology hotspot, with a number of companies committing to investments in the area related to the unfolding energy transition and the EU propelling the development of localized supply chains to reach its e-mobility goals over the next decade.

The city is centrally located in Europe, in proximity to a number of car manufacturers’ plants, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen.

In August 2022, Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) announced it will invest $8.08 billion to build a 100 GWh battery plant in Debrecen, following its first battery plant in Europe, located in Germany.

In June 2022, construction works also started for BMW’s $1.1 billion EV plant in Debrecen, due to become operational in 2025.

One factor supporting hefty investments in the Hungarian e-mobility ecosystem is one of the lowest taxes on labor, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in a speech last year.

More than 10 million EVs were sold worldwide in 2022, IEA data showed and sales are expected to grow by another 35% in 2023 to reach 14 million units.

This sustained growth means EVs’ share of the overall car market has risen from around 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022, and is set to increase to 18% this year, based on the latest IEA projections.

Want more insights and forecasts for the battery materials market?

Keep up to date with global market insights and predictions for 2023 and beyond. Gain access to more data and analysis by requesting a demo of one of our short-term forecasts.

What to read next
North American EV demand is slowing with BEV adoption declining while hybrid vehicle sales gain momentum, prompting automakers to reset strategies amid policy shifts and trade pressures.
In the latest episode of Fast Forward, Fastmarkets’ Andrea Hotter speaks to senior figures across government and industry, including the US Department of Energy, Rio Tinto and Lockheed Martin, to unpack how critical minerals and battery materials are being reshaped by shifting demand, policy priorities and national security concerns.
The geopolitics-led diversification of critical minerals supply chains is broadly viewed as a tailwind to the lithium market, senior executives said during the Executive Keynote Panel at Fastmarkets’ Global Lithium, Battery and Critical Materials in Las Vegas on Tuesday June 23.
Here are some of the key discussion topics across the battery and critical minerals sectors ahead of Fastmarkets’ Global Lithium, Battery and Critical Materials conference taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on June 22-25.
Few battery raw materials entered the 2020s with as much momentum as lithium hydroxide. As automakers raced toward electrification, the industry widely expected high-nickel batteries to dominate the next generation of electric vehicles (EVs). Lithium hydroxide, a critical raw material for nickel-rich cathodes, was projected to become one of the battery sector’s fastest-growing products.
Ford’s launch of Ford Energy reflects a clear strategic reset rather than simple diversification. The company is responding to a widening gap between earlier EV assumptions and current market reality, where demand growth has slowed, subsidy support has become less reliable, and large-scale battery investments are now underutilized.