EcoPro Group’s EcoPro BM has halted operations at its first European cathode-material production base in Debrecen, Hungary, after investing about 1.5 trillion won in the facility. Hungarian authorities ordered the suspension over alleged safety-regulation violations, leaving the group’s overseas expansion under strain.
If the shutdown continues through year-end, operating losses are estimated to exceed hundreds of billions of won as the company looks to an easing electric-vehicle demand slump for a recovery in its battery-materials business.