The building structure is taking shape at the large construction site belonging to Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia (CATT) in the Erfurter Kreuz industrial park. The Chinese battery manufacturer plans to invest EUR 1.8 billion and employ around 2,000 people at the 24-ha site. The company has irons in the fire elsewhere in Thuringia, too. CATT recently rented a bankrupt online retailer’s warehouse that has stood vacant since 2019. Located in the Erfurt Freight Hub (GVZ Erfurt), the 3-ha facility will become the central European warehouse for the battery factory at Erfurter Kreuz. The project is expected to create several hundred jobs. Using an existing warehouse, which was originally constructed for EUR 45 million, will be faster than building a new facility from scratch. The batteries manufactured in Erfurter Kreuz will be shipped from the warehouse to automobile factories all over Europe. (maa)