European lithium-ion battery dilemma-self-produced or purchased?

With the revolution in electric vehicles(and trucks and buses and heavy equipment) sweeping through Europe, policymakers and investors are wondering whether the EU should pursue an aggressive lithium-ion battery plant strategy or just turn China, Japan and Europe to the next generation of batteries. South Korea is doing heavy work. In fact, the only European company in Europe is actually building a new battery plant, driven by Asian companies, but the EU may be too late.

A year ago, the European Union announced a major initiative called the European Battery Union, which aims to bring battery plants built by European companies to the African continent. At the time, Maros Sefcovic, vice president of the European Commission, said: "We must act quickly because we are participating in the global competition. We need to prevent technological dependence on our competitors. "

But Jieladelide, founder of Alexa Capital, told Reuters: "I don't believe anyone in Europe can compete with Asians. His company advises companies in energy, technology and electricity infrastructure. One factor is that Asian companies often benefit from large government subsidies. European companies need billions of euros in subsidies to compete.

Many in Europe remember what happened when local companies tried to cash in on the emerging market for solar panels. They were quickly swamped by cheap imports from Asia. (For American readers, see Solyndra for more on this topic. ) "Once burned, twice shy," they reasoned. It may be best to let Asian companies devour this particular pie and create a new pie based on the next generation of battery technology.

Timo Moeller, director of the McKinsey Future Mobile Center in Cologne, said: "The current battery development cycle and the pace of technological progress is so great that new and additional participants have the opportunity to enter. Diego Pavia, chief executive of Inno Energy, endorsed the investment in Innvolt, a sustainable energy company. "Everyone is developing solid-state batteries, so as we develop, the gap with Asia will be smaller and smaller. "

Of course, when we were at CleanTechnica, we knew that solid-state batteries and the slow progress of translating basic research into commercial reality. Based on this knowledge, Pavia's statement may be completely too clever. But some European investors are considering the business opportunities of making so-called "green" batteries -- European companies using cells made in Europe by local workers and 100 tons of renewable energy from locally purchased raw materials. However, in that case, Europe may find that the exact location of the local cobalt source is not yet clear. Perhaps these next-generation solid-state batteries require little cobalt.

Still, with the value of Europe's electric car battery market expected to climb to 250 billion by 2025, someone could make a lot of money. Just this week, BYD announced plans to put its oars into the European battery market. It already owns an electric bus assembly plant in Hefaguo, Hungary. The company has not yet indicated where its new plant will be located.

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