cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/12470373

Battery giants poured billions into Hungary under Orbán’s generous incentives; now pollution scandals, factory shutdowns and a new government crackdown threaten the country’s ambitions as Europe’s EV manufacturing hub.

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Hungarian regulators ordered Chinese battery component manufacturer SEMCORP to halt production at its plant in Debrecen on June 24 after water samples collected at the facility showed excessive concentrations of metals and other pollutants.

On July 3, authorities returned to the factory and ordered a complete shutdown of operations, this time citing violations of fire safety regulations.

SEMCORP is considered the world’s largest manufacturer of separator films, a critical component in lithium-ion batteries, particularly those used in electric vehicles. According to published reports, its separators are incorporated into batteries manufactured by Panasonic and CATL that are installed in electric cars.

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BYD promised not to pollute. Then Hungary’s foreign minister went to work for the company

In 2023, shortly after Chinese automaker BYD announced plans to establish its first European factory in Szeged, Hungary, a highly publicized event was held at the future plant site.

Szeged Mayor László Botka and China’s ambassador to Hungary, Gong Tao, emphasized that construction and operations would comply with the strictest environmental regulations.

In May this year, Hungarian police opened an investigation into BYD. According to Hungary’s environmental protection minister, “BYD is in a state of significant violation of the environmental protection permits it received and must immediately cease its polluting activities.”

Not long afterward, it emerged that Péter Szijjártó, who served as Hungary’s foreign minister during the establishment of BYD’s factory, had been appointed this year to head the company’s foreign relations and investment operations.

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The problem, according to reports in Hungary, was that tax exemptions were not the only concessions the manufacturers received [under former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban].

Hungarian media reports have described serious environmental damage, groundwater contamination and the construction of factories near residential areas.

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Battery factories outside homes and contaminated groundwater

Hungarian media coverage has repeatedly raised allegations that local regulatory mechanisms were weakened and that ordinary residents of villages and small towns had lost much of their ability to influence decisions.

Residents found themselves confronting an enormous and powerful government apparatus capable of imposing the construction of battery factories just a few hundred meters from their communities.

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In July, [new Hungarian PM Peter] Magyar announced that a government investigation into the relationship involving former Foreign Minister Szijjártó, who had moved to work for BYD, would be published in the coming months.

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