For Europe, battery production is a strategic imperative for clean energy transition and the competitiveness of its automotive sector. Moreover, the Commission’s ‘new industrial policy strategy’ goal is to make the EU the world leader in innovation, digitisation and decarbonisation.
What is the European Battery Alliance and why does it matter?
Call for proposals on blueprint on sectoral cooperation on skills - Batteries for electro-mobility - deadline 28 February 2019
“Batteries are at the heart of the industrial revolution and I am convinced that Europe has what it takes to become the world’s leader in innovation, decarbonisation and digitisation.” - Vice-President Maroš Šefčovic
“Europe is investing in a competitive and sustainable battery manufacturing sector. We want to provide a framework that includes secure access to raw materials, support for technological innovation and consistent rules on battery production. We envisage a strong battery industry that contributes to the circular economy and clean mobility.” - Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska
The European Battery Alliance (EBA) was launched in October 2017 by Vice President Šefčovič.
This cooperative platform gathers
- the European Commission
- interested EU countries
- the European Investment Bank
- key industrial stakeholders
- innovation actors
The immediate objective is to create a competitive manufacturing value chain in Europe with sustainable battery cells at its core . To prevent a technological dependence on our competitors and capitalise on the job, growth and investment potential of batteries, Europe has to move fast in the global race. According to some forecasts, Europe could capture a battery market of up to €250 billion a year from 2025 onwards. Covering the EU demand alone requires at least 10 to 20 ‘gigafactories’ (large-scale battery cell production facilities).
The scale and speed of the necessary investment require a combined effort to address this industrial challenge.
Strategic action plan for batteries
With the strategic action plan for batteries, the Commission adopted a comprehensive set of concrete measures to develop an innovative, sustainable and competitive battery ‘ecosystem’ in Europe. The plan aims to
Secure access to raw materials for batteries from resource-rich countries outside the EU and facilitate access to European sources of raw materials, as well as access secondary raw materials by recycling in a circular economy of batteries
support scaled European battery cell manufacturing and a full competitive value chain in Europe. The Alliance is bringing key industry players and national authorities together and work in partnership with EU countries and the EIB to support integrated (cross-border) manufacturing projects at scale
strengthen industrial leadership through accelerated research and innovation support to advanced (e.g. Lithium-ion) and disruptive (e.g. solid state) technologies
develop and strengthen a highly skilled workforce along the whole value chain to close the skills gap. This includes providing adequate training at EU and country level, re-skilling and upskilling, and making Europe attractive for world-class experts in the field
support the sustainability of EU battery cell manufacturing industry with the lowest environmental footprint possible. This entails setting requirements for safe and sustainable battery production in Europe
ensure consistency with the broader EU regulatory and enabling framework (clean energy strategy and mobility packages, trade policy, etc.)
This approach will promote the production and use of high-performing batteries and set sustainability benchmarks throughout the value chain.
Timeline
Since the launch of the European Battery Alliance, there have already been tangible developments with the announcements of industrial consortia or partnerships. The tab below contains a chronological account of all events, meetings, speeches and press releases related to the European Battery Alliance. It is regularly updated to reflect the latest developments.
Actors and stakeholders
More than 120 industrial and innovation actors are active under the Alliance and collectively endorsed recommendations for priority actions steered by EIT InnoEnergy in partnership with active EU countries and the EIB.
Related links
Source: European Commission
