Photo: Wechat account of CATL

China's lithium-ion battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) announced Wednesday that its first overseas factory in Thuringia, Germany has achieved mass production of lithium-ion battery cells on schedule, marking a breakthrough in its global expansion.

The first shipment of battery cells from CATL's German factory were successfully delivered from the first battery cell production line in the G2 plant, according to a company statement on Wednesday. The factory has started module production in the G1 plant during the third quarter of 2021.

The installation and commissioning of the rest of the production lines for G2 is in full swing with the aim of achieving a smooth ramp-up to production, the company said.

This shipment of batteries has passed all the tests required by CATL's global products, which means that CATL has the ability to produce and supply locally to European customers.

The production of battery cells in the German factory remains on schedule, which demonstrates that the company, as a reliable partner of the industry, will keep its firm commitment to customers and the electrification transformation in Europe even in the face of various risks and challenges including the COVID-19 epidemic, Matthias Zentgraf, the company's president for Europe said.

Zentgraf noted that they are making every effort to ramp up the factory's production capacity as their top priority for next year.

CATL's German factory plans to invest a total of 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion), with a planned production capacity of 14GWh, while creating 2,000 local jobs as part of its future plans.

In the first 10 months, CATL ranked first in terms of global battery installed capacity. Currently, the firm has partnerships with almost all domestic new energy vehicle companies, according to media reports. It also has partnerships with overseas car companies such as Ford, Tesla, and BMW.