A factory of the Chinese group CATL, the global battery giant which equips many brands of electric vehicles including Tesla, was the victim of a fire on Sunday in China, local authorities said. “There are no reports of any casualties at this time”according to municipal authorities in Ningde, the city where the group is based in Fujian province (east).
Firefighters received an emergency call at 11:26 a.m. following a fire at a CATL production site in Ningde. Emergency services were dispatched to the site to fight the fire and to organize the evacuation of people on this site of approximately 15,000 square meters, according to this press release published by the Dongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone.
The nature of the products concerned is not known
Videos published by Chinese economic media Cailianshe on the social network Weibo show a large white industrial building, part of which is in flames, with thick gray smoke rising rapidly towards the sky. Photos posted by Internet users showed a relatively large blaze.
Asked about the incident, the CATL group referred AFP to the authorities’ press release. The nature of the products produced at the site affected by the fire was not immediately clear.
Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), founded in 2011, is the undisputed global champion in electric vehicle batteries. Its factories produce more than a third of the batteries sold worldwide and equip a multitude of manufacturers (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Tesla, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc.).
