Nippon Paper Chemicals Europe Plant Inaugurated

The Japanese company has set up a carboxymethyl cellulose processing plant on its 43,000-square-meter site in Vácrátót, north of Budapest.

The environmentally friendly product produced here is used as a binder for electric vehicle batteries. The larger granules of the raw material, which are delivered to the Nippon Paper Chemicals Europe plant, are ground into powder at the plant and then packaged and shipped to customers.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the chemical division of the Japanese company has built its battery parts factory as part of a greenfield investment worth around HUF 15 billion, for which the state provided HUF 2.3 billion in funding, thus helping to create 60 new jobs in the first phase.

At the inauguration ceremony, Murakami Yasuhito, Managing Director of Nippon Paper Industries Co., and Kikkawa Yuji, Managing Director of Nippon Paper Chemicals Europe, recalled that they decided to set up a factory in Hungary in 2022 and thanked the donors, especially the Hungarian government, for their support. They expressed their hope that the factory would strengthen Hungarian-Japanese relations and local suppliers, and that their company would benefit from having a presence in Hungary.

Murakami Yasuhito described the newly inaugurated greenfield investment as a new venture and indicated that they will also play a role in the European electric car industry. Carbon methyl cellulose increases battery life and is therefore also used in mobile phones, he said.

Hikariko Ono, Japan's ambassador to Hungary, said that the Japanese parent company chose Hungary because of the favorable investment climate. He stressed that environmental protection is a growing challenge for mankind and Japan has experience in this field, and the factory, which uses high technology, also puts environmental protection at the forefront.