Journalists are rarely allowed inside this high-tech factory from China, and when they are, the rules are strict: no photos, smartphone cameras are taped over, and even short audio recordings require approval from a press spokesperson.
The plant shrouded in secrecy is not located somewhere in China, but in Arnstadt, a small town in the eastern German state of Thuringia. It belongs to Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the Chinese global market leader in electric vehicle batteries. The factory produces 14 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery capacity a year — enough for at least 200,000 electric cars — supplying, among others, European automakers.
