A collection of 16 posts
EU members agreed to tighten sustainability regulations for batteries, with an almost unanimous vote at the Council of the EU, on Monday 10 July. The Council tweeted that it “has adopted today new rules that will, for the first time ever, cover the whole lifecycle of batteries. The goal is
“Romania, and Europe, have lost the battle with China in certain segments, such as battery production, but we are trying to recover this gap,” Romanian Economy Minister Florin Spataru said on Thursday 25 May, state news agency Agerpres reported. “How do we manage to have a balanced approach in the
Hungarian Sinologist Tamas Matura argued in his recent report for CEPA that China wields little influence in Hungary, despite the Hungarian government’s decade of support for Beijing in the EU. However, shortly after the release of the CEPA report, China’s CATL announced plans to build a EUR 7.
As the EU accelerates its shift to electric vehicles by outlawing internal combustion engines by 2035, the auto industries in Central Europe are transiting to e-mobility. Battery plants can play a key role in the absorption of manpower as conventional car making is phased out, while pulling in new electronic
EU Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic laid out the bloc’s plans how to build capacity in critical raw materials for batteries along the value chain after a meeting of the Competitiveness Council this week. “We know that the broad deployment of clean and digital technologies will lead to a rising
The European Commission (EC) has greenlit Hungary extending EUR 24 million in state aid towards the expansion of a South Korean firm’s factory that makes copper foil for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Volta Energy Solutions is investing EUR 206 million in upping the operational capacity of its plant in
As Germany opens a new chapter with an unprecedented three-party coalition led by Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Central European Times analyses what the country’s new leadership could mean for the region. After a near-record term in office, Angela Merkel stepped down as German chancellor after 16 years
South Korea’s president and representatives of the Visegrad 4 (V4) group countries have pledged to boost their economic cooperation in the fields of electric vehicles, batteries and infrastructure, among others. In their meeting at the V4-Korea Business Forum on 3 November, President Moon Jae-in and the leaders of Czech
South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, begins a 9-day tour of Europe this week, ending with a meeting of the regional “Visegrad 4” group, where boosting business cooperation in areas like batteries and electric vehicles will be on the agenda. Today, president Moon is scheduled to meet with his Hungarian
Volkswagen will decide on the location of a new battery cell plant in Central and Eastern Europe in the first half of 2022, the German carmaker announced. Each of the V4 countries – Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – are in the running to host the facility. Volkswagen has announced
Germany’s VW is planning on building six battery factories in Europe by 2030, and one of those facilities is likely to land in one of the Visegrad 4 (“V4”) group countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland or Slovakia – but the actual decision hasn’t yet been made. Wherever the
The government is currently discussing investments with 14 South Korean companies, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after meeting his opposite number Chung Eui-yong and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo in Paris on Wednesday. President Moon Jae-in will next month become the first South Korean head of state to visit Hungary
The Czech government and energy company ČEZ have signed a memorandum of support for the construction of a battery factory for electric vehicles, a so-called “mega factory,” in the Czech Republic. The plan has been approved by the government, according to the deputy prime minister and minister of Industry and
The European Commission has recently approved a EUR 90 million subsidy offered by the Hungarian government to South Korea’s SK Innovations – one of the world’s largest energy and chemical companies – to support the establishment of its second battery plant in the city of Komárom in Hungary. According to
Slovakia has been a great beneficiary of automotive industry expansion in recent decades. However, its high exposure to the global car market, and the ongoing far-reaching transformation of the industry may endanger the country’s outlook in this regard and reveal weaknesses in Slovakia’s economic growth model. “This is