‘Five years ago, Europe was at risk of falling irreversibly behind its competitors in the global batteries market. Today it is on its way to respond with up to 90% of its needs by 2030.’
The European Battery Alliance, launched by the European Commission in 2017, has used is Sixth High-Level Meeting held on the 23 February 2022, to launch the European Battery Academy. The Academy aims to coordinate re-skilling and up-skilling efforts to provide for the immediate roll out of ‘high-quality training’ across Member States. This development is part of the EU’s agenda to meet the anticipated demand for some 800 000 people that will be needed by the battery industry by 2025. The European Commission will support the Academy with a grant of €10 million.
The High-Level Meeting was also used to set out priority areas of work for the European Battery Alliance during 2022. These priority areas include: Agreement on and adoption of the Commission proposal for regulation on sustainable batteries, continued diversification of sources of battery raw materials, and streamlining permitting procedures for battery raw material projects in Member States; in line with rigorous environmental standards.
It was noted during the meeting that 111 major battery projects are being developed across the EU Member States, with investment along the entire value chain totalling €127 billion. Commenting, Thierry Breton, Commissioner responsible for the Internal Market said; ‘Five years ago, Europe was at risk of falling irreversibly behind its competitors in the global batteries market. Today, it is on its way to respond with up to 90% of its needs by 2030… However, important progress remains to be accomplished in the area of sustainability and responsibly produced and sourced battery raw materials, and equipping the European workforce with the right skills.’
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