European Commission - Fact Sheet Excerpts: ”Currently, the EU has no capability to mass produce battery cells. Europe relies on battery cells from foreign, mainly Asian suppliers. The lack of European cell manufacturing base puts the EU at a competitive disadvantage – it jeopardises the position of EU’s industry ..”
mce-anchor ”Europe has what it takes to become a world leader in sustainable battery technology. The EU is already a leader in many sectors of the battery value chain ..”
”It is important to act now and fast. With the shift towards e-mobility, battery demand is expected to surge. Batteries can be a major source of jobs, economic growth and investment for the EU. Some 4-5 million jobs may be created as a result of the EU taking the lead in this sector.”
”Future batteries will play a key role in enabling a green and secure energy supply for Europe. Their development can create jobs and support growth in key industries. But the pursuit of commercially competitive, high-performance batteries needs to go hand-in-hand with the quest to lower their environmental impact.”
”When it comes to the extraction of the minerals and the treatment of metals used in batteries, these processes usually take place outside of the EU, and in some cases in countries unable or unwilling to implement adequate health, labour and environmental protection conditions. The EU should not offshore the environmental impact of the production of the batteries used in Europe. Environmental, health and social conditions within the EU are amongst the highest in the world, but nothing prevents the development of fully compliant extractive activities here as it is already the case for some metals.”