The Drying Plain: The dark side of batteries 5/6

Despite local protests, CATL Debrecen, one of Europe's largest battery factories, which has been under construction since 2023, may start operations in the coming months, while battery production in Hungary is in a deep slump compared to last year.

The factory, worth three thousand billion Hungarian forints, will have an initial production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours, rising to 100 gigawatt hours in the long term – which will require enormous amounts of energy and water, most of which will be used for cooling.

How sustainable is the battery-focused development policy of the Hungarian government actually?

Hosting and narration: Alexander Damiano Ricci.

Journalistic research, fieldwork, interviews and original scripts: Zsuzsanna Balázs and András Tóth.

Editing of scripts: Alexander Damiano Ricci and Andras Toth.

Original sound track and sound editing: Dominik Tar.

Adaptation of scripts into English: Futura D’Aprile.

Sound editing of the English version: Alexander Damiano Ricci.

Original cover artwork by Qubit.

Adaptation of the cover artwork for the English version: Watermelon collective.

Producers: Zsuzsanna Balázs and András Tóth.

Executive producer: Ana Ribera.

Editorial and production coordination: Alexander Damiano Ricci.

This co-production was supported by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union. Neither the European Union, nor the granting authority can, therefore, be held responsible for said opinions and viewpoints.

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