Ecopro's plant in Hungary has begun full-scale mass production after holding its first shipment ceremony for high-nickel NCA (nickel, cobalt, aluminum) products supplied to European original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
According to Ecopro on Wednesday, the event held Monday at the Debrecen plant in Hungary was attended by Ecopro BM CEO Choi Moon-ho, Ecopro BM Hungary subsidiary head Ha Ju-yong, and employees of the Ecopro BM Hungary subsidiary.
"Even amid fierce competition in the global market, our top-tier quality and technological capabilities have been recognized, and supply is expanding centered on premium European OEM volumes," Choi said. "We are conducting discussions on further cooperation with major customers in the European market, the home of eco-friendly future mobility, and we are also achieving tangible order results."
The plant, spanning approximately 440,000 square meters (133,100 pyeong), houses Ecopro BM, which produces cathode materials; Ecopro Innovation, which handles lithium processing; and Ecopro AP, which produces industrial oxygen and nitrogen. The annual cathode production capacity of Ecopro BM totals 54,000 tons across three lines, enough to supply about 600,000 electric vehicles. The Ecopro Innovation building supplies 8,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually, while the Ecopro AP building supplies 16,000 cubic meters of oxygen per hour.
Ecopro BM plans to gradually increase production and begin mass production of high-nickel cathode materials to supply other global automakers within this year. Going forward, it plans to build a dedicated line for NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) in addition to NCA to accelerate its push into the European EV market. A plan to build a second plant is also under review. Once the second plant is completed, the facility's production capacity is expected to more than double from the current level.
"With electric vehicle demand recently rising in Europe, the use of EU-made cathode materials is being mandated under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA)," Ecopro said. "We are using the Hungary plant as a strategic base to preemptively respond to strengthening regulations within Europe."
