According to a report by the Handelsblatt , the Chinese battery manufacturer CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited) plans to build a battery cell factory at the Erfurter Kreuz in Thuringia. It would be just the third major battery factory in Europe. Currently LG Chem is running a plant in Poland and Samsung has one factory in Hungary. Germany has long been considered an unsuitable location due to high wages and electricity prices. BMW is said to have already assured that they will buy batteries worth billions of euros from the planned factory. Daimler is apparently also considering an quotation.

CATL evidently wants to gain a foothold in the European market and is seeking proximity to the car manufacturers. Due to their great weight, battery cells are very expensive to transport over long distances. Delivery by aircraft is often impossible because the batteries are flammable, and so instead they must be shipped by boat. However, the times of arrival, which cannot be guaranteed with any precision, do not square with the just-in-time production modes of car companies.