The second event of the DGO Thuringia district group in 2025 took place at the battery company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL). After a welcome by Constance Ulbrich, HR Specialist Learning & Development, the former President Europe of CATL, Matthias Zentgraf, gave the colleagues an overview of the development of the company, which is one of the world's leading companies in the development, manufacture and sale of battery systems for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, in a video show
The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Ningde, Fujian/China. Its main business is the production of battery cells, modules, packs, energy storage cabinets and lithium-ion-based containers for clean energy storage. An important field of production is electromobility with lithium-ion batteries for scooters, cars, trucks, buses, construction site and special vehicles, ships, airplanes and more. During production, numerous device and product checks are carried out to ensure a "zero defect rate". According to the company, it should be in the ppm range and continue to improve. In his presentation, Zentgraf explained that 20 to 40 kWh of electrical energy is required to produce a 1 kWh battery. Furthermore, around 27,000 employees work in the research and development department both in China and worldwide in order to remain the global market leader in the battery sector. In order to gain market share in Europe as well, the first two buildings (G1 and G2) for module and cell production and for final production through to delivery were constructed in Arnstadt from 2019. The building for battery cell production is 540 m long and 260 m wide. CATL also has sites in other federal states. After the presentation, Mathias Zentgraf answered questions from the participants in the subsequent discussion. The discussion focused on the safe recycling of Li-ion batteries, a process that is well known but can only be carried out professionally by specialized companies in Germany. The further development of batteries takes place exclusively in Chinese development departments. The state of development in Germany and the need to catch up was also addressed.
At the end of the discussion, the participants were given an insight into battery module production, where the Li-ion cells are assembled in different quantities to form a module (design depending on car type and car brand). After a detailed explanation of the various process steps in module production, the group of visitors was given an overview of the assembly steps of the cells up to the packaging of the batteries ready for dispatch in the production hall. The processes in this hall are largely automated, so that the manual effort is minimal.
