South Korean battery materials specialist EcoPro has officially opened its first factory outside Asia, choosing Debrecen in eastern Hungary as the site of a landmark investment. The new USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.3 billion) cathode production complex ranks among the largest greenfield projects in Hungary’s modern history and covers an extensive 44-hectare site, making it one of the region’s biggest industrial facilities.

High-Capacity Cathode Production for Europe’s EV Market

At the opening ceremony, EcoPro chairman Lee Dong-chae confirmed that trial production will be completed by the end of 2025, with full-scale commercial manufacturing planned for the first half of 2026. The Debrecen plant has an initial annual capacity of 54,000 tonnes of cathode materials, with a planned expansion set to double output to 108,000 tonnes per year. This volume will be enough to supply battery cathodes for approximately 1.3 million electric vehicles each year.

The site also includes a facility capable of producing 8,000 tonnes of high-purity lithium hydroxide, a key precursor used in lithium-ion battery manufacturing. Cathodes, anodes, separators and electrolytes make up the four core components of lithium-ion cells.

Supporting Europe’s Fast-Growing Battery Supply Chain

EcoPro currently employs 240 workers, including 170 Hungarian employees, and the workforce is expected to grow significantly as production lines expand. Much of the plant’s initial output is already secured under a five-year supply agreement with Samsung SDI, signed in late 2023. Samsung SDI operates its own major battery production plant in Göd, Hungary, making Debrecen a strategic location for integrated supply-chain operations.

The opening of EcoPro’s Hungarian plant strengthens Hungary’s position as a major European hub for electric vehicle battery manufacturing. With additional expansion already planned, the Debrecen facility is poised to become one of Europe’s most important cathode material production centres.