Europe plans to have globally competitive EV battery industry by 2025, says EC

Europe could produce enough battery cells to meet the needs of its captive electric vehicle (EV) industry and could even be in a position to export batteries by 2025, according to the vice-president of the European Commission.

Maros Sefcovic, told delegates at the European Conference on Batteries - held online on Tuesday November 24 - that the European Battery Alliance (EBA) aimed to create a globally competitive and sustainable European battery value chain worth around €250 million ($297 million) by 2025.

The EBA was created by Sefcovic in 2017, with the aim of avoiding technological dependence on competitors and to capitalize on the growth and investment potential of batteries, when it became clear that the transition to a greener economy was a key priority for countries in and around Europe.

“With more than 500 industrial actors, the [EBA] has become a resounding success in just three years, turning Europe into a global battery hot-spot,” Sefcovic said.

He said 15 new battery production plants - the so-called “gigafactories” - were under construction in locations across Europe, including Italy, France, Germany Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.

He pointed to Sweden-based Northvolt - which is developing lithium-ion battery production facilities in Sweden, Germany and Poland - as a good example.

In addition, Chinese lithium-ion battery manufacturer CATL is developing a production facility in Germany, while South Korea’s SK Innovation has already built a lithium-ion battery factory in Hungary - with production slated to start this year and an aim of supplying 7.5GWh of battery cells annually.

Other than these projects, most manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries takes place in China, he said.

Sefcovic said the European facilities would be able to supply cells for at least six million EVs by 2025.

He added that plans to “future-proof” Europe’s regulatory framework on batteries and and to strengthen the resilience of the EU’s critical materials value chains were well under way.

“This will ensure that only the greenest and safest batteries make it into the European market.” he said.

What to read next
The price of graphite flake fines in China continued to edge lower amid slow demand and a depreciation of the local currency in the week ended Thursday May 25. Spherical graphite prices in the country, meanwhile, held at the 11-year low reached in the previous session
Chinese lithium prices continued to trend upward over the past week, but at a slower pace than in previous weeks due to the emergence of bearish sentiment and resistance among consumers
How could the FBB capacity expansions impact the European market?
Black mass purchasing in the key South Korean market was limited over the last week by middling demand in the country, while the fresh decline in Chinese lithium markets in recent days led to more caution among buyers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 24
State-owned copper giant Codelco has created two subsidiaries to further its expansion into lithium, a metal Chile has identified as essential not only for the global energy transition but for its own future development
Putailai, one of the major anode producers in China, announced plans to invest $1.5 billion (SEK 15.7 billion) in Zichen Technology (Sweden) AB. to build Europe’s largest factory for anode manufacturing in Sundsvall in central Sweden
We use cookies to provide a personalized site experience.
By continuing to use & browse the site you agree to our Privacy Policy.
Proceed