“The establishment of the battery specialist LION Smart makes another important contribution to expanding Thuringia’s production and research capacities in the field of battery technology,” says Thuringia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Wolfgang Tiefensee. With the Chinese global market leader Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), Kedali Germany GmbH (KDL), and the mechatronics specialist Marquardt Group, other significant companies in the sector are already active in the Free State; at the Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC), the Fraunhofer IKTS is researching digitally supported battery production for sodium and lithium-ion batteries.
The new investor in Hildburghausen belongs to the Swiss holding company LION E-Mobility AG. In his opening address, Alessio Basteri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the holding company, explicitly thanked the state of Thuringia. "We are grateful for the state's significant support and access to financial funding opportunities. We are very happy today and will continue to invest here in Hildburghausen in the future." In addition to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Thuringian Development Bank, Alessio Basteri also specifically named LEG as a supporter. "We provided LION Smart with our full range of services throughout the entire establishment process," reported Dr. Arnulf Wulff, Authorized Representative and Head of Department at LEG. "This investment project closes a gap in the value chain for battery projects in the Free State of Thuringia." (hw)
