Europe: a global centre of excellence for batteries

Europe’s clean energy future depends on plugging-in all battery technologies.

Europe has made a significant leap forward with a multi-billion-euro commitment to boost battery research, solidifying the role of batteries as key to achieving a low carbon future.

And with this investment, the EU is on the way to becoming a global centre for advanced and sustainable batteries, recycling and re-use of materials.

These were the messages I shared at an event with EU-based energy storage association EASE and Batteries Europe called Developing the Batteries of the Future: Actions to Take Today.

With leading capability in manufacturing, recycling and research, Europe’s advanced lead battery industry is ticking all the boxes for the high-performing, sustainable, safe and cost-effective batteries needed for Europe’s electrification and decarbonisation goals.

Or put another way as Claudia Gamon, MEP told the event: “Our battery industry can be a pioneer in this world.” Panellists recognised the EU’s lead battery value chain as a gold standard example of the circular economy in action, a blueprint for other technologies to follow.

For the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI), the EU is a critical centre for new innovation and battery development. Despite its long history, a surprising amount remains unknown about the complex chemistry involved in lead batteries, and CBI’s research program is helping untap the potential of this mainstay technology. CBI will be launching a range of new technical research projects under the banner of energy storage this year, working with European research institutes and battery manufacturers. The synergies fostered through the work of the Consortium ensure advanced lead batteries continue to innovate to meet future demand.

It is essential that policymakers create a level playing field for all technologies, recognising their contribution to investment and research and creating Europe as a centre of excellence for advanced clean and green battery technologies. The unrivalled safety record of lead battery manufacturing and recycling in Europe reinforces its role supporting the transition to a low carbon future with renewable energy and clean mobility. The demand for battery energy storage is set to soar in Europe and lead batteries will be one of the technologies capable of meeting this requirement at scale, from utility grid-scale storage and frequency regulation, or community-based microgrids to fast-charging for electric vehicles.

Europe is well on the way to becoming the first carbon-neutral continent, and with a range of technologies competing, supporting different applications, Europe’s diverse battery capability will help ensure 2050 climate goals are achieved.

Read more for why analysts predict a high-growth future for lead batteries – a technology necessary for a decarbonised future

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Originally published by the Consortium for Battery Innovation.