Operation of Chinese battery plant in Debrecen suspended over serious environmental concerns

As of 24 June, The Hajdú-Bihar County Government Office ordered that the operations of Semcorp’s battery manufacturing plant in Debrecen be suspended with immediate effect, according to the details of the resolution published on the office’s website. The decision stated that the Chinese plant's activities deviated from what was specified in its IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) licence, thus threatening the environment and polluting it, according to Debreciner.

Semcorp manufactures the separator film used in batteries. In March of this year, tests conducted jointly by Greenpeace and the Association of Mikepércs Mothers for the Environment also revealed the presence of solvents and other industrial chemicals in the stream near the plant. Samples were taken from the rainfall drainage system next to the industrial site following the accident at Semcorp on February 18.

In its justification, the authority stated that when it conducted an on-site inspection at Semcorp on 26 February, they found that an unidentified, steaming substance with a pungent odor was seeping into the soil. The decision also notes that, according to a Semcorp representative, this substance was simply condensation water, which contains no harmful substances or pollutants.

The county authorities subsequently ordered the taking of samples, which was done on 19–20 March. After an accredited laboratory performed the analysis, Semcorp sent the results to the authorities on 14 May. These showed that the groundwater in the area affected by the leak contained extremely high levels of aluminum—used in the manufacture of separator film—as well as other metals and metalloids.

The maximum permissible level for aluminum is 200 micrograms per liter; in contrast, the sample taken at the site of the leak measured 2,676,000 micrograms per liter, which is more than thirteen thousand times higher than permitted.

Arsenic, zinc, lead, cobalt, cadmium, nickel, barium, chromium, copper, manganese, and lithium were also detected in concentrations that exceeded the legal limits multiple times. According to the authorities, most of these substances cannot be traced back to natural sources, which is also confirmed by the 2021 baseline survey.

According to the decision of the administrative authority, operations had to be suspended with immediate effect because further environmental damage cannot be ruled out while legal proceedings are ongoing. “Since continued operation could likely exacerbate the current situation, the interest related to protecting the environment takes precedence over the interest related to postponing the implementation of the decision,” they wrote.

The mayor (Fidesz) of Debrecen had previously requested that the authorities consider revoking the environmental permit for Semcorp’s battery plant.

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced back in the fall of 2021 that the Chinese Semcorp would build a separator film factory costing 65 billion forints in Debrecen’s Southern Economic Zone, where a battery factory, a cathode factory, and several automotive industry suppliers are also currently building factories. At the time, the Hungarian government provided 13 billion forints (nearly 37 million euros) in funding for the project, in exchange for which the company promised to create 440 new jobs. Semcorp eventually launched trial production in the summer of 2025 with more than 440 employees.