Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, aims to become an EV powerhouse

Over the past decade, a strategic cooperation has developed between Debrecen and the Hungarian government, reshaping the city’s economic and infrastructural profile. The government treats Debrecen as a priority development centre, directing significant state resources, industrial investments and educational projects here, to turn it into a Central European regional centre by 2030.

This year, the fruits of this cooperation appear to be coming to maturity, and a factory-opening boom is expected: the two largest investments, the German BMW electric car factory and the Chinese CATL battery plant, are scheduled to begin production. Other components required for electric vehicles will also be manufactured here.

Two major economic zones

The North-Western Economic Zone, located a few kilometres from Debrecen along the M35 motorway, covers a total of 620 hectares. It includes BMW Group’s 400-hectare investment area, a 100-hectare supplier park, and the surrounding and supporting roads, logistics units and utility networks. The supplier park plays a key role in the BMW plant’s operations, which was inaugurated recently and is expected to begin production at the end of October. Here, EVE, a Chinese battery manufacturer, is building its first European plant, supplying cylindrical battery cells to BMW. Construction of the assembly plant and the sorting building began on 20 September.

The German ZF Chassis Modules factory, inaugurated this April, has started serial production in August, supplying front and rear axles, while the German Schedl Group produces wheels for BMW. The Swiss Sensirion has also opened a factory here, producing sensors for medical, automotive and refrigeration technologies.

In the Southern Industrial Park, a 710-hectare area near the city’s airport, CATL has built its second European battery plant, following Thuringia in Germany. It will manufacture batteries for European carmakers such as BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen. Production in Debrecen is scheduled to begin by the end of this year or early next year.

Three German companies are already operational here: Krones and Deufol, which focus on packaging, and Vitesco, which manufactures inverters and control modules for electric vehicles.

The Chinese Semcorp is building a factory here to produce battery separator film, expected to start production this autumn. The South Korean EcoPro BM, a cathode producer, will open its first European plant here. Since 2018, the German ThyssenKrupp has been operating in Debrecen, producing coil springs and stabilisers for European car manufacturers.

Sustainable energy solutions

Not only do the products manufactured here help reduce carbon emissions, but several factories are also striving to make the manufacturing process itself more sustainable.

BMW’s Debrecen plant is the first carbon-neutral facility in its international manufacturing network, running on renewable energy sources, with a significant portion of its electricity generated on site.

The ZF plant operates with no local CO2 emissions and uses electric heat pumps, while Halms’ parts manufacturing facility also relies on a heat pump system for heating and cooling. The Vitesco building uses energy- and water-efficient technologies, and Sensirion is powered by geothermal energy, heat recovery systems, energy storage units and solar panels.

Renewable energy in the city

The city itself is working to increase energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy, which partially helps supply the industrial parks. A 24-megawatt (MW) solar park is under construction near the airport, and in the Southern Economic Zone, two solar parks with a combined capacity of 30 MW are planned, partly integrated with battery storage.

The industrial developments are also complemented by various infrastructure improvements and smart city solutions. The goal is to raise urban management to a higher level through the City Management Centre, which collects, stores, and analyses data from systems operated by the municipality, and manages the necessary response mechanisms.

The centre’s operation is organised around traffic management, supervision of energy systems, and the Environmental Monitoring System, which continuously monitors the city’s environmental conditions, including air, water, and soil quality, noise levels, and biodiversity.

If everything goes according to plan, Debrecen could become an innovative industrial and research centre, where not only industrial production thrives, but the potential negative impacts on the environment are also managed.