The dream of European energy sovereignty involves achieving full self-sufficiency in battery production. A study by the organization Transport
It would be the most effective response to the recent US Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to protect the green industry made in the USA. Because in order to produce electric vehicles, it is necessary to recover in Europe the industrial capacity that allows the minerals and materials used to manufacture the long-awaited lithium batteries to be secured.
Until now, half of the batteries used in electric vehicles in the EU have already been manufactured in Europe, essentially in Poland and Hungary. In the future there will be more. According to what T has calculated
This would make the Old Continent the second world manufacturing pole. "But Europe will need to put more money on the table if it doesn't want to risk the US taking over battery factories and jobs," the report said.
European industry plans to build almost seven million fully electric vehicles by the end of this decade. But of course, to power them you will need batteries. Well, if the money flows and things don't go wrong, Europe has the opportunity to reduce its current dependence on China, which obviously also has geostrategic repercussions. Because it is not just about manufacturing electric cars, but about shortening the value chain.
However, there are stones along the way. For Carlos Rico, responsible for policies of T
"Another question is how we are going to finance this reconversion, perhaps the joint issuance of bonds or a European sovereign fund represent the most effective solution," Rico ventures. The European Commission studies to give more details at the end of this week on this subject. European states have spent €6 billion to incentivize electric cars, while the EU has already invested €20 billion in the European battery electric value chain. It is a first step, but we must also take a further leap at the regulatory level. Rico points out that in the US the commitment is being clear, with agile administrative procedures and subsidies that are easier to obtain, unlike in Europe.
In any case, European energy sovereignty comes up against a geological limit. Because its territory does not have many minerals that will have to continue coming from outside, yes or yes. The report suggests that 100% of battery cells can be made in the EU by 2027, as can two-thirds of battery cathodes.
But, as for refined lithium, at most 50% could be reached thanks to 24 extraction and refining projects in Europe in 2030. And as regards minerals such as cobalt or nickel necessary for recycling, it would not reach nor 10% local production. Precisely these days, the so-called Critical Raw Materials Law, which aims to regulate these new investments, is still being discussed in the Commission. Because energy independence is not only an aspiration: it is above all an investment.
