Hungary’s Record-breaking State Aid to Battery Factory Approved

The European Commission has recently approved a EUR 90 million subsidy offered by the Hungarian government to South Korea’s SK Innovations – one of the world’s largest energy and chemical companies – to support the establishment of its second battery plant in the city of Komárom in Hungary. According to an announcement by the company, KRW 945 billion (EUR 670 million) has already been invested in the Komárom facility. SK Innovation’s first plant there began production at the end of 2019, and the second will be inaugurated in 2022. Their third factory is already being built in Iváncsa, Hungary, some 40 kilometers south of Budapest.

Meanwhile, Hungary’s government has been pledging significant sums of money to secure investments in the battery industry. The state subsidy offered to SK Innovations is so far the highest amount seen since Hungary’s political changes but could soon be surpassed by the state aid promised to Samsung’s plant in Göd (EUR 108 million), whose approval is still pending from the European Commission. On average, the state accounted for almost 9% of investments, but there are also cases – such as the Sangsin expansion in Jászberény – where this proportion reaches 30%, according to a piece in Magyar Narancs.

Source: 444.hu , Magyar Narancs