EU to provide funding for environmentally friendly batteries
The EU is currently working on new environmental standards for batteries being sold in the EU. These strict new standards could mean that batteries that don’t meet the criteria could be banned from the European market, while an additional €3.2 billion funding will help European projects.
The criteria batteries will have to meet would include various factors, including whether clean energy was used in the construction process, and whether manufacturers use sustainable raw materials.
This comes as the EU realises that it can’t compete with countries like China and South Korea in terms of volume. However, in order to capitalise on growing demands, it has chosen to target the environmental aspect – something that’s a key concern for many consumers.
According to Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, this could mean that, under the “Battery Alliance”, European batteries could claim a market value of a quarter of a trillion euros by 2025 if imports from Southeast Asia are excluded for not meeting the required standards.
When asked if bans would be imposed on these countries, the official noted: “I think that if they would not respect the standards, then yes.” We clearly have to do what other economies and markets are doing, we have to respect their standards.”
“Of course, our Asian competitors are not sleeping. They see what we aim to do with this alliance. The work on standards is important: if you want to sell here, you have to respect our standards.”
“Our focus on scaling up innovation under the Battery Alliance is yielding strong industrial partnerships. Thanks to intensive efforts by seven member states, industry and the Commission, Europe’s first major pan-European battery ecosystem is emerging.”
The Commission announced earlier this week that, so far, state aid of €3.2 billion has been approved for battery projects in seven European countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden, which all applied earlier in the year.
