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Released March 05, 2018 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European Union (EU) wants to capture the lion's share of the projected 250 billion-euro ($304 billion) lithium ion battery market.
The EU Battery Alliance, a group of more than 50 companies that was established by European Commission (EC) Vice President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic last October, wants to build between 10 and 20 European battery "Gigafactories." EC research estimates that the market for battery storage will be worth 250 billion euro by 2025, amounting to roughly 200 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of storage. At present, Japan, South Korea and China dominate the battery market, with Tesla Motors Incorporated (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Palo Alto, California) in the United States making inroads.
Speaking recently, Sefcovic boldly called on the alliance and the EU to establish Europe as the "global leader in sustainable battery technology."
"Our objective for the Alliance is simple, but the challenge is immense," he admitted. "We want, almost from scratch, to create a competitive and sustainable, battery cell manufacturing in Europe supported by a full EU-based value chain. Do we want to leave this to our global competitors? The lack of a domestic, European cell manufacturing base jeopardises the position of EU industrial customers because of the security of the supply chain, increased costs due to transportation, time delays, weaker quality control or limitations on the design. So, we need to act fast - and collectively--to overcome this competitive disadvantage and capitalise on our leadership in many sectors of the battery value chain, from materials to system integration and recycling. Due to the level and urgency of investment needed, this cannot be done in a fragmented manner. It needs a Europe-wide approach."
He added: "It has been estimated that the size of the investment required is around 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) per 10 GWh. So even if this is not scientific, we would need around 20 billion euros ($24 billion) investment. This is a huge investment of course. But it is within our reach."
Last week, Industrial Info reported that Europe had announced financial backing for the region's largest planned electric battery production plant in Sweden. The project is being developed by Northvolt (Stockholm, Sweden), formerly SGF Energy AB, which was formed by Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerruti, two former senior executives at Tesla Motors. For additional information, see March 1, 2018, article - Europe Funds First Battery 'Gigafactory'.
The goals of the EU Battery Alliance are:
"Saft has 100 years of experience in research, development and manufacturing of high-performing industrial cells and batteries, including over 25 years in lithium ion," said Ghislain Lescuyer, chief executive officer of Saft. "This program is focusing on the battery technology of the future, and when development of such solid-state technology is successfully achieved, innovative industrialisation processes with scalable 1 GWh manufacturing blocks will start. Batteries are at the heart of the current technological revolution. Their development and production play a strategic role in the ongoing transition to clean mobility and clean energy systems."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The EU Battery Alliance, a group of more than 50 companies that was established by European Commission (EC) Vice President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic last October, wants to build between 10 and 20 European battery "Gigafactories." EC research estimates that the market for battery storage will be worth 250 billion euro by 2025, amounting to roughly 200 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of storage. At present, Japan, South Korea and China dominate the battery market, with Tesla Motors Incorporated (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Palo Alto, California) in the United States making inroads.
Speaking recently, Sefcovic boldly called on the alliance and the EU to establish Europe as the "global leader in sustainable battery technology."
"Our objective for the Alliance is simple, but the challenge is immense," he admitted. "We want, almost from scratch, to create a competitive and sustainable, battery cell manufacturing in Europe supported by a full EU-based value chain. Do we want to leave this to our global competitors? The lack of a domestic, European cell manufacturing base jeopardises the position of EU industrial customers because of the security of the supply chain, increased costs due to transportation, time delays, weaker quality control or limitations on the design. So, we need to act fast - and collectively--to overcome this competitive disadvantage and capitalise on our leadership in many sectors of the battery value chain, from materials to system integration and recycling. Due to the level and urgency of investment needed, this cannot be done in a fragmented manner. It needs a Europe-wide approach."
He added: "It has been estimated that the size of the investment required is around 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) per 10 GWh. So even if this is not scientific, we would need around 20 billion euros ($24 billion) investment. This is a huge investment of course. But it is within our reach."
Last week, Industrial Info reported that Europe had announced financial backing for the region's largest planned electric battery production plant in Sweden. The project is being developed by Northvolt (Stockholm, Sweden), formerly SGF Energy AB, which was formed by Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerruti, two former senior executives at Tesla Motors. For additional information, see March 1, 2018, article - Europe Funds First Battery 'Gigafactory'.
The goals of the EU Battery Alliance are:
- Invest in R&D and pilot plants to take the technology lead in primary and secondary raw materials processing;
- Build European alliances between industries from different parts of the value chain and politics to boost mining and intermediate product production in EU;
- Define cell manufacturing as a strategic industry;
- Implement same compliance rules to foreign battery products imported to Europe as applied to European products;
- Define and implement certification/labelling of batteries made in Europe. Use the declaration as a tool in trade agreements and tax treatment with non-EU battery providers;
"Saft has 100 years of experience in research, development and manufacturing of high-performing industrial cells and batteries, including over 25 years in lithium ion," said Ghislain Lescuyer, chief executive officer of Saft. "This program is focusing on the battery technology of the future, and when development of such solid-state technology is successfully achieved, innovative industrialisation processes with scalable 1 GWh manufacturing blocks will start. Batteries are at the heart of the current technological revolution. Their development and production play a strategic role in the ongoing transition to clean mobility and clean energy systems."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
