The audience waited patiently for presentations about a group of battery factories being built nearby. They listened to descriptions of the unsafe chemicals the plants would exploit, the enormous water consumption and energy demands.
When it came time for questions, people began to shift in their chairs and stand up, making the crowded room seem even smaller.
One woman asked what would happen if the chemicals leaked. What will it be like for politicians in their “velvet chairs,” asked another. The third warned that it would be like in Soviet times, when iron and steel mills left behind a polluted legacy.
Then one woman began to cry as she told about 50 people who had gathered at the community center on a icy, obscure evening that factory smokestacks and hazardous materials were located about a mile from her daughter’s kindergarten.
“Please stand up for yourself,” she said, urging the audience to spread the word.
Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL), is approaching completion of the construction of one of the largest electric vehicle battery factories in Europe. Several other manufacturers of battery parts and consumables also operate in the industrial park where it is located on the outskirts of Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city. At least two of them belong to Chinese companies, one to a company from South Korea. Another Chinese battery factory is being built on the other side of the city.
The construction surge is part of a nationwide frenzy sparked by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s push to make Hungary a leading battery producer. To achieve this goal, Orbán turned primarily to Beijing. According to data collected by the Net Zero Industrial Policy Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, Chinese companies have so far announced or built at least 18 electric vehicle and battery projects in Hungary, with declared investments amounting to $17 billion.
While the factories could put Hungary at the center of Europe’s shift away from fossil fuels, they have sparked a backlash from residents concerned about their impact on public health and the environment.
“Everyone will get their fair share of this stew,” said Éva Kozma, president of the Mikepércs Mothers for the Environment Association, a citizen activist group that hosted the event. Kozma helped create the group after CATL announced its 2022 plans and has since highlighted the risks associated with battery development, identifying contamination events and reviewing factory permits.