Automotive News Europe - December 2019 - 21

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

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QA Perfect timing

Why China's CATL expects to gain from tougher EU emissions regulations

ontemporary Amperex Technology
Co. Limited has started construction
of its first cell plant outside of China and
its fourth overall in Erfurt, eastern Germany. Europe boss Matthias Zentgraf
spoke with Automotive News Europe
Correspondent Christiaan Hetzner about
the mix of battery solutions CATL is planning to offer.
What is the current status of the
Erfurt plant, which should reach 50
gigawatt hours by 2025?
Luckily, in June we acquired the former
SolarWorld photovoltaic plant, where
we are setting up offices, warehousing,
a prototype shop and module assembly
that will be up and running next year.
That allows us to use the time better
until our greenfield cell site is ready for
production by the start of 2022.
You said earlier this year 100 GWh
in Erfurt was conceivable after customers inundated you with requests
for quotes after the EU decided on a
2030 target for CO2 fleet emissions
that was stricter than initially recommended by the European Commission. Is that the new goal?
I was just thinking out loud, speculating on the future, nothing has been
decided. A lot depends on customer
acceptance of the technology and the

DECEMBER 2019

prismatic cells for electric vehicles?
Based on our experience and the requirements of the industry, we believe
they are the best solution for automotive
applications. They are sealed shut and
welded into a metal hardcase that can
easily be integrated into a battery module. Since direct contact with a heat sink
suffices, they don't need additional cooling elements like a pouch cell does. The
market seems to be validating our view.

Meet the Europe boss
❚ NAME: Matthias Zentgraf
❚ TITLE: CATL Europe President
❚ AGE: 56
❚ MAIN CHALLENGE: Preparing

the battery cell maker's first
greenfield plant outside China to
start production in early 2022.

expansion of the charging infrastructure. But the only means available to an
automaker to prevent compliance fines
in the future is electrification.
Why has CATL decided to focus on

What other technologies is the company considering?
For passenger cars, typically our customers want long driving ranges, which
means high energy density and hence
nickel manganese cobalt. We are considering whether a potential solution for
entry-level electric vehicles could be the
LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells we
supply for inner-city electric buses in
China. We are considering all options.
How much of a jump in performance
can solid state cells offer?
For these investments to pay off, it must
be a breakthrough technology. Our customers have in mind a 50 percent improvement in energy density with 50
percent less volume. But we don't expect industrial scale production for automotive applications until the end of the
next decade. ANE

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Automotive News Europe - December 2019

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