What are the environmental concerns associated with battery factories in Hungary?

Greenpeace Hungary | 01. March 2023, updated on 15. May 2025

More and more local protests are breaking out across Hungary following the opening of battery factories, many of which are classified by the government as investments of national economic importance. This designation allows investors to benefit from streamlined licensing processes and shortened environmental assessments, which effectively prevent a thorough risk analysis and limit the involvement of local residents. These factories have extremely high energy and water demands, and those currently operating in Hungary use large quantities of hazardous materials. Authorities are unable to prevent or control pollution from these battery plants, avert potentially fatal workplace accidents, or even enforce already inadequate regulations. As a result, they are incapable of ensuring a safe environment for the thousands of citizens living in affected areas. Meanwhile, civil society concerns are dismissed by authorities and decision-makers – sometimes even withholding public data that is legally required to be accessible to residents and NGOs.

Currently, the largest developments in Hungary are expected in the production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, as well as in battery manufacturing for grid-energy storage –  the position of Greenpeace Hungary specifically addresses these sectors.

An increasing number of Hungarian towns and cities are being targeted as potential sites for battery factories serving the electric-vehicle industry. The electric-car sector has seen a rapid surge in recent years, further driven by the European Union’s current plan to phase out the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles – petrol and diesel – by 2035, although this regulation is currently under review. According to Greenpeace, in order to stay within the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement, Europe should stop the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles by 2028.

At the same time, it is essential that decisions regarding infrastructure development genuinely support a transition to sustainable electric transportation. Achieving this requires a reduction in the overall number of cars on the roads. Simply replacing the approximately 1.5 billion internal combustion engine vehicles currently in use around the world with 1.5 billion electric cars is not a viable solution – especially considering that a growing number of electric vehicles will undoubtedly demand a growing number of batteries.

This is the opportunity the government seized when the Hungarian Prime Minister announced in 2022 that Hungary would become the third-largest battery producer in the world. Since then, new investments related to this sector have been announced one after the other. However, similar to many other large domestic investments, decision-makers have largely ignored the interests of environmental and nature protection, as well as the needs of local residents in these projects. As a result, the construction and operation of the massive factories often take place in a way that sustainability considerations are almost entirely disregarded. In such large-scale projects, it should be kept in mind that Hungary’s resources are finite. These factories require enormous amounts of water, consume vast amounts of energy for their operation, and the infrastructure development associated with them also causes significant environmental strain.

Furthermore, there is a huge democratic deficit in the process by which the government is supporting the domestic installation of battery factories. The needs, interests and concerns of local residents were not sufficiently considered, even during the expansion of the Samsung factory in Göd. In 2020, the government created a special economic zone, taking away land from Göd and ordering large-scale infrastructural developments to prepare for the expansion of the operation from South Korea. Similarly, the SK Innovation battery factory in Iváncsa was placed in a similar special economic zone, which also negatively affects the nearby town of Dunaújváros. Due to government actions, the affected municipalities have been deprived of the right to have a say in these changes, and while they bear all the negative impacts of these factories, the towns do not benefit from the industrial tax revenues enjoyed by the companies concerned.

The regulatory system is unable to control the battery industry

The domestic regulatory system is not only unable to prevent pollution, accidents, or monitor emissions, but in many cases, it seems to work towards covering up pollution. It appears that the system’s goal is to protect the polluters from residents and environmental groups. However, according to the law, its duty should be to protect the environment and human health from pollution. Due to the lack of uniform EU regulations, many factories have operated or continue to operate without an environmental permit. Moreover, environmental organizations claim that the authorities have also manipulated the emission values.

In a normal world, environmental authorities would be the most important allies of green organizations, fighting together for the same cause. However, in Hungary, authorities under political control strangely view the environmentalists and local residents concerned about their surroundings as enemies. Greenpeace and its partners often find that the reported pollution cases are not adequately investigated by the authorities (the relevant government offices, water management authorities and disaster management).

• To this day, there has been no answer as to how NMP (N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone), classified as a potential teratogen, ended up in the wells of Göd in 2022.
• There is also no response from the authorities regarding how NMP ended up in the agricultural soil after city sewage spilled onto farmland in Göd in February 2024, near the Samsung SDI plant. Greenpeace measured the NMP at a concentration of 200 micrograms per litre.
• It has not been clarified why more than 80 tons of NMP were released from the Göd battery factory over the course of a single year.

Between 2020 and 2022, the operation of the Göd battery factory’s black dust-emitting sections was repeatedly halted. Due to operating without a permit, authorities imposed disaster-management fines 13 times. Even though each time they warned that they could order a complete suspension of operations, this never occurred.

Companies often factor in fines in advance

Companies often practically calculate fines in advance. The Samsung plant in Göd was fined as early as March 2018 for not complying with fire and industrial-safety regulations, followed by a series of similar fines in the following months. All of these fines were obtained through a public information request by Zsuzsa Bodnár, the head of the Göd-ÉRT Association and a journalist at Hungarian NGO Átlátszó. According to documents released last year, the company was fined 6 times for industrial safety reasons and 11 for fire safety reasons since 2018.

Lack of EU regulation on emissions

Currently, there is no unified EU regulation on battery manufacturing. The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) did not cover battery manufacturing until the summer of 2024. In response to continuous civil and public protests, Hungary took the initiative and announced in the summer of 2024 that, under the amendment of the government decree on environmental impact assessments and unified environmental permitting procedures, the production of all battery types and their components (cathode, anode, electrolyte, separator film), as well as the pretreatment and recycling of their waste, will be considered an activity requiring an environmental-impact assessment.

After the change in EU legislation, battery manufacturing will be included in the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) for production capacities exceeding 15 tons of battery cells. The directive must be transposed into national law within two years (by July 1, 2026), but the adoption of the Best Available Techniques (BAT) reference document (BREF) related to the IED may take up to four years. This document will contain the specific applicable technologies and acceptable environmental emissions for battery factories. Until a unified EU BREF/BAT is in place, it will depend on the Hungarian authorities to decide the contents of the permit within the relatively general EU framework.

After it was revealed that 81 tons of NMP solvent could have been released into the air from the Samsung SDI plant in Göd in 2021 (which is 75 times the 2024 emission limit), Hungary set stricter emission limits for NMP and NMC (nickel, manganese and cobalt compounds – the cathode material). According to this:

• New investors must comply immediately;
  
• For existing plants in Hungary, the deadline is January 2028;
  
• For investors whose permit application is already in process, the deadline is 2027;
  
• The emission limit for manganese has been reduced to one-fifth, while the limit for nickel and cobalt has been reduced by half.
  

The NMP limit has been set at one milligram per cubic metre. Previously, the emission limit was 2 mg/cubic metre, or 150 mg/cubic metre, depending on the interpretation of existing regulations.

Battery factory construction in exchange for valuable land

The planned construction of a battery factory a few kilometres from Debrecen has sparked heated debate among locals, as valuable agricultural land is being turned over to industry for the investment, involving approximately 220 hectares. Moreover, local residents were only informed about the plans after they had been finalized, and their opinions were only sought after the state had already agreed on the project with the CATL company carrying out the investment.

The lands around Debrecen belong to the Hajdúsági loess ridge and are some of the highest quality arable lands in the country. Now, when ensuring local food sources for the population has become one of the most important tasks across Europe, it is concerning to sacrifice these areas for an industrial investment that could be carried out elsewhere. One of Hungary’s greatest natural assets is its incredibly fertile soil. Its careful preservation could ensure food supply for the entire population of the country, and even allow for exports of the surplus. Instead, an increasing portion of our arable land is being sacrificed for industrial use.

In addition to the loss of farmland, local residents are concerned that the increased traffic related to the factory could disturb their peace and safety. The hundreds of trucks serving the factory every day will also degrade air quality.

Locals have every right to be outraged. We should not be turning a blind eye to a large investment that damages the quality of life for residents, and endangers natural and environmental values. For every major construction project, including battery factories, only brownfield investments – which mainly occur on abandoned or contaminated sites previously used for industrial, commercial or defence purposes – should be permitted. However, it seems that the government repeatedly ignores this consideration when it comes to the approval of battery factories. As well as Debrecen, the Iváncsa plant was also built on greenfield land, and since the construction of the Samsung battery factory in Göd, the town has suffered from increased traffic, noise and occasional unpleasant odours around the factory area.

All of this is possible because bad practice has become widespread in Hungary: the government, citing an investment of national importance, simplifies the approval requirements with a stroke of a pen, effectively disregarding the needs and interests of residents and environmental considerations.

Huge water-intensive investment in drought-stricken Hungary

The significant water consumption of battery factories, either planned or currently operating, is particularly concerning in Hungary, which is increasingly affected by severe and dramatic drought. If the government and decision-makers do not allocate a significant portion of state and public funds to address these problems immediately, by 2070 two-thirds of the country will turn into a dry steppe, where not only will we be unable to produce food for ourselves, but the land will only be usable for a limited amount of grazing.

To avoid this catastrophe, every drop of water within the country should be managed with careful and forward-thinking decision-making, and the resources available should be focused on retaining any water that enters Hungary. Due to the drying process, the water in deeper soil layers should be treated as an emergency reserve for the future drinking needs of the population, rather than being endangered by investments promising short-term, ill-conceived solutions.

In the case oft the battery factory being built in Debrecen, the water consumption of the industrial park hosting it, according to an expert preparatory study, could reach up to 60,000 cubic metres per day. This number alone is larger than the total water consumption of the city. The environmental impact study claims that this is not a problem, but the fact remains that the city and its surroundings have been suffering from increasingly severe drought for years, so increased water extraction could cause surface dryness, which should be examined in the impact study. Debrecen does not have a significant river to solve its water supply issues. A significant portion of the water used by the factory could also be lost as evaporation into the atmosphere.

Therefore, decision-makers should focus on preserving the country’s water resources, instead, during the climate and ecological crisis, water-intensive investments are being carried out. For such a water-intensive investment, a basic requirement would be to consider the long-term effects of the climate crisis on water management before selecting the location for the factory. Dalma Dedák, an expert from WWF, further elaborates on the concerns regarding the water usage of battery factories in her article.

High energy consumption of factories in the midst of the energy crisis

As battery manufacturing is an energy-intensive activity, it is important to examine whether Hungary can supply the necessary energy. According to government announcements, the manufacturing capacity could increase nearly tenfold, with the annual battery production capacity potentially reaching 250 GWh by 2030. The total annual energy demand for such a battery manufacturing capacity could reach 15-16 TWh, which is comparable to the production of the Paks nuclear power plant. The expected division of thermal and electrical energy demand is not known, but the thermal energy is likely to be generated from natural gas.

This enormous energy demand has not been accounted for in the relevant strategic energy documents. It is therefore unclear how the Hungarian government would solve the supply for the factories, and it is also unknown how much the factories’ operations would increase the country’s CO2 emissions.

Based on the above, it appears that plans for the construction of battery factories have not been preceded by careful planning from an energy policy perspective, nor from the perspective of the needs of the electricity system. The industry strategy’s idea of meeting the factories’ electricity demand solely through solar panels seems more like a forced brainstorming idea, especially when solar energy developments have been effectively halted in the commercial power plant, household and industrial sectors through various measures.

Amid the climate and energy crisis affecting Europe, a great deal of consideration and solid groundwork are needed, especially for plans related to the development of such an energy-intensive industry. Due to the lack of realistic plans, there is a concern that if the large-scale battery factory investment plans are realized, they will result in significantly higher energy demand, increased energy dependence and an increase in climate-damaging emissions either domestically or abroad.

Hazardous and toxic substances around actories

In the case of battery factories, it is not only during the planning and construction phases that environmental and nature protection risks need to be considered. The production of batteries involves the use of many hazardous and toxic chemicals, which, when released into the environment, can harm wildlife and human health. This danger persists throughout the operating life of the factory. One such substance is NMP, which is potentially harmful to foetuses and, as a reproductive toxin, is regulated under EU law, meaning it can only be used under strict conditions. This substance was found in the groundwater near the Samsung factory in Göd in tests funded by civil organizations.

Also among the hazardous substances used in battery production are lithium compounds, which are harmful to both human health and the environment. One commonly used compound, lithium hexafluorophosphate, is toxic and causes burns when it comes into contact with the skin and eyes. Long-term exposure to this compound can damage organs. Several organic solvents used in lithium-ion battery electrolytes, such as ethylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, propylene carbonate, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, butyrolactone and tetrahydrofuran, can also be harmful to human health. Tetrahydrofuran, for example, is classified by the EU as extremely flammable, causes severe eye irritation, is possibly carcinogenic and its vapors can cause respiratory irritation.

The question then arises as to the guarantees the factory being built in Debrecen would comply with all industrial safety regulations. It is of utmost importance  that factories strictly adhere to the rules and regulations to avoid emissions exceeding permitted  levels. Another risk is the transportation of these substances in large quantities on public roads, as hazardous materials could be released into the environment in the event of any accident.

It is the responsibility of the regulatory authorities to ensure compliance with these regulations at the factory. If, for any reason, emissions exceeding the limit are released into the environment, the authorities, in collaboration with the factory, must investigate the issue as quickly as possible, fully informing the public, involving local residents and civil organizations and, if necessary, begin the process of remediation.

However, the experience of recent times has shown that the Hungarian authorities are unable to prevent pollution incidents or take proper action to remediate existing contamination (e.g.the Illatos Út contamination, Óbuda Gasworks, etc), nor to effectively prevent industrial accidents (e.g, the Kolontár disaster). In the case of the Samsung factory in Göd, the presence of NMP was not investigated, and even after measurements commissioned by civil organizations, the cause of the NMP contamination was not clarified. Furthermore, disaster and fire safety regulations were not enforced in the battery factory for years.

Occupational safety and chemical risks of battery waste management

One of the major environmental risks of battery manufacturing is the handling of batteries that become waste and the large quantity of defective batteries generated during production. In the early stages of a new factory, the rate of defective batteries can be as high as 40 percent, and these are typically stored and processed near their point of origin, in this case, Hungary. However, currently, the recycling of defective and waste batteries does not take place in Hungary. In factories like those in Bátonyterenye or Szigetszentmiklós, these batteries are only pre-processed for further use. In practical terms, this means that after discharge, defective or used batteries are shredded in a shredder containing recoverable metals. The result of this is a valuable metal-containing ‘black mass’, which is currently recycled in Asia. The recycling process in Hungary, which includes discharging and shredding, is particularly fire- and explosion-prone, environmentally polluting and poses occupational safety risks. This is evidenced by numerous accidents and incidents of pollution involving both plants. The risk of processing battery waste is increased by the fact that the composition of the electrolyte is variable and often unknown. The nickel and cobalt compounds in batteries are toxic and carcinogenic, lithium compounds are particularly hazardous, and the components of electrolyte are consistently toxic and fire-prone.

The materials released during recycling may include per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), which are widely used in many industries, including in waterproof textiles, food packaging, containers, paints, and as flame retardants or electrolyte additives in lithium-ion batteries. In the event of fire, the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) used in battery factories generates several toxic fluorine-containing combustion products (used as a binder by companies like Semcorp, Samsung, SK, CATL, and Bamo). Due to the high stability of PFAS chemicals, they accumulate over time in the human body and in the environment, which is why they are often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’. In 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) proposed restrictions on more than 10,000 of these compounds, and this process is currently ongoing in various sectors.

From Alsózsolca to Sóskút, local residents have been protesting against battery waste recycling plants planned for their towns. These concerns are not unfounded, as the operation permit for a similar plant in Bátonyterenye was suspended in August 2023. The South Korean-owned SungEel Hitech Hungary Kft. plant was unable to comply with regulations related to operations and waste management, and locals regularly experienced unpleasant odours. The Bátonyterenye plant was reopened in the summer of 2024. This company’s Szigetszentmiklós plant has also received several fines for seriously endangering workers, including a fatal accident. The cases of Iklad and Abasár unfortunately show that non-compliance with regulations can cause harm to towns where no waste disposal or recycling plants were authorized.

However, the Bátonyterenye and Szigetszentmiklós plants are not capable of handling all the defective battery waste generated in Hungary. This is why news reports have emerged about battery waste storage sites popping up across the country, such as at the Éltex Kft site in Salgótarján, where Greenpeace has also conducted investigations. Additionally, beyond the controversial recycling plant in Sóskút, several Hungarian companies, such as MOHU, the Mészáros Group’s Envirotis Holding and Éltex Kft., are also planning to establish waste recycling plants in Hungary. However, to our knowledge, these will still not be facilities where the recoverable metals are extracted from the so-called ‘black mass’, but rather simply shredding plants that produce the black mass itself.

Particularly problematic and risky is the fact that currently, battery waste can be transported, stored and handled as non-hazardous. Lithium battery waste and battery waste are particularly flammable, which is why this poses a significant risk. There has already been a fire incident during battery waste transportation in Salgótarján, even though the Éltex Kft site involved is not classified as a hazardous waste handling area.

According to Greenpeace, it is outrageous that, under a bill passed in October 2024, the Minister responsible for industrial affairs, in this case, Márton Nagy, may designate the locations of battery waste recycling plants in the country before any environmental impact assessment procedure. The government’s intention may have been to help solve the problem of battery waste recycling, which has arisen as Hungary becomes a battery manufacturing powerhouse. Moreover, the new regulation may have been aimed at preventing local protests. According to the law, the locations of battery waste recycling plants in the country will now be designated by the Minister responsible for industrial affairs, Márton Nagy, through a decree, before any environmental impact assessment procedure and with no opportunity for public participation. Despite protests from several relevant organizations, Parliament passed the bill.

According to Greenpeace, the amendment to the law goes against both Fundamental Law, and EU and international law. The new regulation completely omits the environmental rights guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention, which Hungary has ratified. Environmental impact should be examined at the time of site designation, and public access to information and the right for them to participate should be ensured. When a minister decides on such a key issue through a decree, public participation is effectively excluded. Furthermore, the bill was voted on without a content summary or an explanatory section containing any meaningful information. Greenpeace argues that since the environmental impact of battery waste recycling plants is undeniable, it is unacceptable that the current legal framework be amended specifically for these plants, especially as the amendment to the law violates international law and represents a step back compared to the level of protection guaranteed by environmental law. In March 2025, the European Commission accepted that lithium battery waste and the product of battery waste recycling carried out in Hungary, the black mass, should be considered hazardous waste according to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC). This change will take effect within one and a half years, meaning that until autumn 2026, it will still be possible to store and handle battery waste and its processing product as non-hazardous waste in Hungary.

What are we doing about the environmental impact of domestic battery factories?

In recent years, we have provided professional support to several domestic civil organizations and local communities who have opposed the construction of battery factories planned for their areas or fought to reduce the risks of these factories:

• In Göd, we have helped local residents several times with our proposals, participated in related events and provided expert suggestions to the local government.
  
• In Göd, at the request of local residents, we conducted measurements near the Samsung factory, examining solvents used in the battery factory in the air at residential properties.
  
• In Göd, we investigated wastewater that had spilled onto arable land, and laboratory tests showed NMP contamination. We wrote a joint letter with the Göd-ÉRT Association regarding the suspended permit of the Samsung SDI factory, followed by a demonstration with the Göd-ÉRT Association.
  
• We participated in civil consultations with the company involved in the Sós-kút factory that produces materials used in battery manufacturing, and we provided advice to local residents on chemical safety and pollution issues.
  
• We consulted with local residents regarding the battery factory planned for the industrial park in Győr and the one earmarked for Debrecen.
  
• After our submissions, the NMP emission limit at the SK Innovation battery factories in Komárom was tightened.
  • The emission limit, which was previously set at 150 mg/m³ (and considered by Greenpeace to be illegal), was not only reduced to the 2 mg/m³ level demanded by Greenpeace, but it was further reduced to 1 mg/m³. This new emission limit aligns with the new regulations that will take effect in 2027-28. According to environmentalists, the relevant national and EU regulations are clear: carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive-toxic substances should have an emission limit of no more than 2 mg/m³. Greenpeace believes that the previously approved high NMP emission limit in Komárom was illegal and posed a risk to health and the environment.
    
• We also spoke out on the planned electrolyte factory in Szolnok.
  
• In the media, we have shared our professional criticisms regarding nearly all domestic factories, for example, in this podcast.
  
• We protested against regulations that facilitate the spread of battery factories.
  
• We organized several events on the topic, including a professional session at the National Meeting of Green Organizations and a discussion with stakeholders, which was also filmed.
  
• We organized a joint demonstration with the local communities concerned at Battery Week 2024.

How can local residents get involved in the process?

We advise local residents who are near planned battery factory constructions to try to get involved early in the licensing process. If the necessary documents are not available, they should request the licensing documents through a public interest data request. We recommend that they contact the local municipality regarding the matter and also reach out to the company operating the factory, especially if the authorities refuse to release the necessary data under the pretext of a major state investment and do not allow locals to participate in the decision-making process.

It is advisable to involve a local civil organization to examine the factory’s water and energy demands, potential emissions and the scope of its impact. A good step is to organize civil cooperation behind the issue, which provides an opportunity for local residents to unite in protest against the potential harmful effects of the battery factory. Additionally, starting a petition and informing the media can help the cause significantly .

Our position on the battery factories being established in Hungary

• Although the development of electromobility is necessary, domestic resources cannot support as many battery factories as are planned by the government. The timeline, the expected scale of investments, and the comprehensive social and environmental impact, are so significant that the environmental and social effects of the planned factories should be examined not individually, but within the framework of a Strategic Environmental Assessment. Considering the long-term effects of climate change, calculations should be made to assess how the construction of so many new factories might threaten our water resources and energy security. The location of new industrial sites should also take into account climate and ecological trends, and the potential consequences over the next 20 to 30 years.
• Battery factories make enormous demands on energy, but the existing energy strategy documents do not account for this. In the midst of the climate and the energy crisis affecting Europe, careful consideration is required for plans involving such an energy-intensive industry. Due to the lack of realistic plans, there is a fear that if these battery factories are built, they will result in an increase in the use of traditional fossil fuels, both domestically and abroad, and lead to an increase in Hungary’s climate-damaging emissions and energy dependency.
• It is unacceptable that the government designates certain projects as nationally significant investments, which facilitates the licensing process, shortens environmental permit procedures and makes it harder to conduct science-based, independent impact assessments. Moreover, before any decisions are made, it is essential to involve local communities and civil organizations. No meaningful decision on such large-scale investments should be made without the support of the local population.
• Rather than allowing greenfield investments that destroy valuable land, brownfield investments should be permitted in Hungary. The country has many polluted sites that remain to be cleaned and put into industrial use. We propose that battery manufacturing plants should only be implemented as brownfield projects, located far from residential areas.
• For years we have been emphasizing that without an independent Ministry of Environment and strong, independent environmental authorities, environmental and nature protection considerations cannot be sufficiently implemented, neither in decision-making nor in the enforcement of regulations. In recent years, authorities have often failed to prevent pollution or enforce regulations, especially in the case of battery factories. Therefore, domestic authorities must pay special attention to factories related to battery manufacturing. Pollution emissions, fire and explosion protection, as well as the occupational safety regulations of these factories, should be regularly monitored.
• Until the ‘polluter pays’ principle is fully implemented by the Hungarian government, and until environmental liability is guaranteed, such factories dealing with hazardous materials pose an even greater risk to the population.
• It is unacceptable that a large-scale programme, such as the National Battery Industry Strategy 2030, is not aligned with other domestic strategies and goals. The long- and short-term environmental and natural risks of these huge new investments are unknown. We do not even know to what extent they threaten our natural resources and energy security.
• Based on current trends, it can be stated that investing to this extent in a single industry and a single technology poses national economic risks, especially since new and promising research reports more efficient, cleaner battery technologies. In other words, it is quite conceivable that in a few years, the lithium-ion batteries currently used and produced (or earmarked for production) in Hungary may become obsolete.
• At EU level, environmental limits should be established for the hazardous materials used in battery manufacturing (such as groundwater and surface water limits), and these substances should also be taken into account when classifying hazardous plants under the Seveso directive. Currently, some of the highly hazardous materials used in the battery industry (such as NMP) are not included in the Seveso directive, meaning no threshold values have been established for them. As a result, some battery manufacturing plants do not qualify as hazardous plants. If ‘hazardous substances’ are classified as restricted or substances of very high concern (SVHC) according to REACH, the EU chemical regulation, these should be replaced with safer alternatives instead of merely establishing threshold values that are often not enforced in practice.
• Until BAT/BREF (Best Available Technology / Best Available Techniques) regulations are in place for the battery industry, the Hungarian authorities must ensure that outdated polluting technology is not brought into Hungary.
• The trust of the population and professional organizations, as well as full transparency in alignment with both domestic and EU principles and international agreements, is essential. It is unacceptable that residents do not know which toxic materials are used just 100 metres from their homes, and which may be affecting them on a regular basis. The materials used, the emissions and the route of battery waste (both manufacturing waste and defective products) should be known. It is unacceptable that battery waste containing numerous hazardous materials is still treated as non-hazardous in Hungary.