At the opening of the fifth edition of the Hungarian Battery Day, Péter Kaderják, Managing Director of the Hungarian Battery Association (HUBA), painted both a confident and cautionary picture of Europe’s battery landscape. While Hungary continues to strengthen its position as a leading production hub, Kaderják warned that Europe as a whole risks losing ground in one of the world’s most strategic industries — one that now extends far beyond electric mobility to touch energy grids, industrial equipment, and even defense systems.
The event, where Energynomics acted as media partner and Editor-in-Chief Gabriel Avăcăriței moderated the panel “Battery production and energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe,” gathered key industry leaders, policymakers, and investors at a time when battery technology has become central to the continent’s industrial and geopolitical resilience.
A booming global market — but Europe lags behind
Kaderják began by recalling the remarkable acceleration of the global battery market. In 2024, electric car sales grew by 25%, surpassing 17 million units, while annual battery demand broke the 1 TWh threshold for the first time. At the same time, the average cost of a battery pack for electric cars fell below 100 dollars per kilowatt-hour — a symbolic threshold that allows EVs to compete directly with traditional combustion models.
Yet this boom masks growing disparities. “The competitive position of Europe in the global race for battery technology excellence and market share is weaker than it could be,” he noted, citing the Battery Deal for Europe paper published by RECHARGE and EBA. The report warns that without urgent, coordinated action, Europe could fall into “strategic dependency at the very moment batteries are becoming mission-critical infrastructure.”
Europe has already lost more than 1,100 GWh (1.1 TWh) of planned cell production capacity since 2024, according to Kaderják — a reflection, he said, of deeper structural weaknesses. “Regulatory complexity and delays in implementing the EU Battery Regulation create uncertainty, which is the enemy of private investment,” he remarked. Coupled with persistently high energy prices and smaller state incentives than in the US or China, these challenges are putting European competitiveness at risk.
Hungary’s steady progress toward a clean industrial base
Against this uncertain European backdrop, Hungary stands out for consistency. “The buildup of the Hungarian battery industry and value chain — involving 20 billion euros in foreign direct investment and 3.7 billion euros in government support over the past seven years — has continued. No major project has been lost,” Kaderják emphasized.
With major battery-cell investors such as CATL (with a planned ~100 GWh plant in Debrecen), Samsung SDI (in Göd) and SK On (in Komárom) already committed to Hungary, the country is positioning itself to become “the leading battery industry hub in Europe by 2030.” This rapid expansion, he said, aligns with the government’s broader decarbonization strategy. The country’s electricity sector has become a model for industrial transformation; in June 2025, solar generation accounted for about 40% of Hungary’s electricity — the highest share globally, according to data from Ember. This boom is now driving a wave of investment in energy storage, which directly benefits the domestic battery ecosystem.
At the same time, Hungary’s transport industry is undergoing rapid transformation — with OEMs such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz scaling EV production in Hungary, and BYD expanding its electric-bus and planned EV manufacturing footprint, the convergence of vehicle and battery manufacturing is gaining momentum.
Missing pieces: testing, recycling, R&D
Despite the progress, the HUBA director acknowledged persistent gaps that could undermine Hungary’s long-term ambitions. “Independent battery testing facilities are extremely scarce in the country. We also lack recycling capabilities, both for pre- and post-treatment, and we risk losing the ability to reduce dependence on imported raw materials,” he cautioned.
He added that the country’s research and innovation capacity, as well as its specialized skills base, remain underdeveloped. Meanwhile, growing public concern over environmental and social sustainability has led to what he described as “a temporary deadlock for new battery investments.”
Kaderják closed his remarks by reminding participants that the stakes are high and the global race is accelerating. “Environmental concerns, regulatory uncertainties, high energy prices, and sharp global competition remain major issues that stakeholders developing the battery industry in Hungary and Europe will face in the coming years,” he said.