The European battery industry has been identified as a strategic value chain for the EU in the context of a strengthened industrial policy strategy. Batteries are a key enabling technology and will be essential for the automotive industry of the 21st century. They will play an important role in the decarbonisation of the European mobility sector and the transition towards a low carbon economy. Therefore European-produced batteries will become a key driver for the EU’s industrial competitiveness. 

The Report on the implementation of the Commission’s battery Action Plan shows that substantive progress has been made in building the strategic value chain in Europe:

• Research, innovation and market development. The EU is mobilising its support instruments covering the entire innovation cycle. The EU’s Horizon 2020 programme has granted €1.34 billion to projects for energy storage on the grid and for low-carbon mobility. In 2019, the EU opened a €114 million call under the H2020 programme to fund battery projects. In 2020, a €132 million call for batteries for transport and energy will follow. In February 2019, a new European Technology & Innovation Platform “Batteries Europe” was launched to prepare a strategic agenda for European battery research with a key role for industrial stakeholders. 

• Investing in people. Batteries are a key topic for funding under the Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills, launched under the Erasmus+ in 2018. A successful proposal is expected to be selected in summer 2019. This will lead to a 4-year project to develop a strategy addressing short and medium term skills needs throughout the battery value chain. 

• Access to sustainable battery raw materials. The EU has been working on securing sustainable access to raw materials in the context of trade negotiations. It has also been exploring the availability of materials needed for batteries within the EU and looking into the opportunities to further develop a European circular economy, including recycling of batteries. In this context, the Commission has been evaluating how the Batteries Directive supports this objective. 

• Regional co-operation. In October 2018, an interregional smart specialisation partnership on “Advanced materials for batteries for electromobility and stationary energy storage” was established. It aims to develop sound business investment projects to leverage private, national and EU funding. This partnership has grown rapidly and now consists of over 20 regions spread across 10 EU Member States and Norway. 

• Criteria for clean, safe, competitive and ethically produced batteries. The EU has started developing minimum performance and sustainability requirements for batteries, building its competitiveness on a sustainable European battery sector.

Innovative energy storage solutions will play an important role in ensuring the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid in the EU at the lowest cost. This will help the EU to reach its 2050 decarbonisation objectives under the European Green Deal while ensuring Europe’s security of energy supply.

For information on how B2EU Consulting could support your organisation in developing a funding strategy and in unlocking different financing tools for your operation in the green sector, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: info@b2eu-consulting.com.