“The relocation of battery specialist Lion Smart represents another important contribution to the expansion of Thuringia’s production and research capacity in battery technology,” said Wolfgang Tiefensee, Thuringia’s Minister for Economics. Major industry players already have operations in Thuringia – Chinese global market leader Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), Kedali Germany GmbH (KDL) and the Marquardt Group, a mechatronics specialist. Fraunhofer IKTS is researching digitally supported battery production for sodium batteries and lithium-ion batteries at the Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC).
The new investor in Hildburghausen belongs to LION E-Mobility AG, a Swiss holding company. In his opening speech, Alessio Basteri, Chairman of the holding company’s Board of Directors, explicitly thanked the state of Thuringia. “We are grateful for Thuringia’s tremendous support and access to financial backing. We are thrilled to be here and will continue to invest in Hildburghausen in the future.” In addition to the Ministry for Economics and the Thuringian Development Bank, Alessio Basteri also specifically named LEG as a supporter. “We supported LION Smart throughout the entire relocation process with our full-service approach,” Dr. Arnulf Wulff, Senior Vice President and Department Head at LEG reported. “The investment project fills a gap in the value chain for battery projects in Thuringia.” (hw)
