Issue 01/2023 | Expanding and strengthening the battery ecosystem
Editorial
Welcome battery enthusiasts!
For all of us, the past year was dominated by extraordinary, unforeseeable challenges. Starting with Russia's attack on Ukraine, which has forced the entire global economy and especially Europe's supply routes to adopt new courses of action. The US economic protection measures have also led to new strategies for Europe's industrial players and politicians. Not to mention the still ongoing Corona impact.
Away from these challenges, however, there were also clearly positive developments for the battery ecosystem to celebrate in 2022. Europe's industrial strength has emerged and achieved a common force. Not only the IPCEI projects, but also extensive private sector investments have paved the way for increasing competitiveness. Partners along the value chain are working towards common goals and setting standards that proclaim environmental sustainability as a goal and help avoid negative social impacts. Conferences and face-to-face meetings have increased again - new levels of common purpose have become the goal. The Battery innovation Days in Brussels and our IPCEI Summit in Kokkola, Finland were best examples of the revival of face-to-face exchange.
All this leads us to look positively into the year as 2023 will become the year in which the Ecosystem Battery Europe will be further established and expanded. As IPCEI coordinators, we want to continue to make a supportive contribution in the coming months and continue the successful cooperation with you. Further activities for networking and the exchange of experiences are planned. We will continue to collect important developments and make them available to you in summarised formats. We invite you to actively participate in the expansion of the European networks, to share your insights and to seek personal exchange. Whenever we can support: our team is ready for new ideas and formats. Let's work together for a successful 2023!
For this issue of our newsletter we have again compiled (hopefully) interesting articles: Market Analysis Q4 2022, partner offer of EPoSS Work Groups, presentation of a whitepaper “Bi-directional Charging”, brief impressions of our new studies “Supply Chains” and “Skilled Workforce” and greetings from the IPCEI-partners from Austria.
Uwe Seidel and Stefan Wolf
Programme Management IPCEI Battery, VDI/VDE-IT
Market analysis: A turbulent battery market
Worldwide, regardless of the slump in global vehicle production, the number of new registrations of battery-powered vehicles and thus also the demand for battery cells continues to increase. In Europe, about 50 battery cell manufacturing sites are currently planned, under construction or partly already in operation. The cumulative annual production capacity in 2030 is expected to grow by about 21% compared to the Market Analysis Q2 2022. Assuming full implementation, the factories are expected to be able to cover the European demand for battery cells from 2024 onwards and the cells produced in 2030 will be sufficient for traction batteries for up to 20 million vehicles.
The actual market development depends in particular on how the battery industry deals with the numerous challenges it currently faces, including the supply of raw materials, precursors, energy, skilled labour.
The market analysis is available for download in the Media & Publications section >>
IPCEI EuBatIn Member States - projects and accompanying measures
In every issue of European Battery Innovation Quarterly, the IPCEI news section contains briefs on the IPCEI European Battery Innovation member states. Below, you find a short member state profile, with information relating to the IPCEIs and battery ecosystem.
To find out more about the member states and projects, explore the European IPCEI batteries map >>
Austria: IPCEI projects and accompanying measures
For Austria, participation in the IPCEI EuBatIn constitutes an important cornerstone in contributing to national and EU climate objectives and strengthening Austria as RDI frontrunner in the battery sector. From the development of sustainable components, more flexible and automated production processes to the establishment of a battery innovation centre to improve the entire module and pack production - the Austrian IPCEI projects cover the entire battery value chain.
Six companies from Austria participate in the IPCEI EuBatIn: AVL, Borealis, Miba, Miba Battery Systems, Rosendahl Nextrom and Varta Micro Innovation.
In the course of the first 18 months of the IPCEI, all six companies have grown together as a national IPCEI community and – together with the Ministry of Climate Action and the two implementing agencies, the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (aws) – continuously exchanged on national implementation, European developments as well as opportunities to further jointly strengthen the batteries’ ecosystem.
Upcoming Publications Q1 2023
Resilient supply chains
The rapid build-up of cell manufacturing capacity in Europe and elsewhere in the world has created new dependencies and shortages in the area of material supply. Global demand for raw materials for batteries such as nickel, graphite and lithium will increase many times over by 2040. However, a significant proportion of the raw materials and intermediate products needed for battery cell production are neither extracted nor processed in Europe in significant quantities. Europe is therefore currently heavily dependent on imports for battery cells. This is a problem because the future of the automotive industry lies in electromobility and a large part of the value creation and performance of an electric car depends on the battery. Establishing resilient supply chains for supplier parts and source materials is therefore equally important for battery cell production and the automotive industry. In the first quarter of 2023, the accompanying research team of the battery cell production programme will publish a study on the resilience of supply chains of five essential battery raw materials. The study analyses the risks arising from market concentration, country risk and demand/supply deficits for the most important raw materials and shows the potentials of European value creation.
Talents and diversity
Both the upscaling of battery cell production and the transformation of the automotive industry will be impaired if the demand for skilled workers cannot be met in a timely manner. According to the latest estimates, the number of people available to the labour market in Germany alone could fall by more than seven million by 2035, mainly for demographic reasons. In contrast, according to the latest forecasts, there will be a demand for skilled workers in the European battery ecosystem of up to 464,000 people in the same period. This is shown by analyses of the accompanying research team of the battery cell production programme, which will be published in the first half of 2023. The study focuses on the current state of labour market in the German battery industry, with a specific emphasis on diversity. It shows that a diversity-friendly corporate culture is key to attracting and retaining the experts needed. By understanding the potential benefits of diversity and implementing strategies to promote it, companies can gain a competitive edge in the race for top talent.
BEPA & Batteries Europe: Task Force on Education and Skills
The Batteries Europe and Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA) platforms both gather the European battery community and collaborate closely with other European networks. BEPA working groups are integrated with Batteries Europe for the joint development of a strategic research and innovation agenda. Under the new co-coordination by Batteries Europe and BEPA, the Task Force on Education and Skills aims to support the emerging European battery ecosystem by giving insights on the education and training of talents. It helps to identify the gaps in terms of education, training and skills development throughout the European battery value-chain.
The Task Force is currently working on a position paper that will outline key skills gaps and needs in the battery sector, give recommendations for the next five to ten years and identify the level of attractiveness of the battery sector for new talent.
Battery Passport & Data Governance: Follow-up
On 19 January 2023 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the time had finally come - the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) was able to present the fruits of over three years of preparation and industrial reconciliation: the proof of concept for its Battery Passport. This marks a milestone in the effort to achieve a real standard in line with the upcoming European battery regulation. The GBA’s members combine the global battery value chain from the mine to recycling, including Tesla, Audi, Glencore, Eurasian Resources Group, CATL, LG Energy Solution, Umicore, BASF and IT solution providers as well as leading non-governmental and international organisations including UNICEF, UNEP, Transport & Environment, IndustriALL, Pact and many others, with the support of government institutions like the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and Natural Resources Canada.
More information on the GBA website: Global Battery Alliance Launches World’s First Battery Passport Proof of Concept >>
Earlier, in December 2022 we organized the second “workshop on data governance North America”. Dedicated experts discussed the challenges of data handling in circular economies and debated key statements regarding data governance, using the example of the proposed Battery Passport. Goal of the panel was to reach consensus on key statements regarding data governance in the circular economy by experts from USA, Canada and the EU. To achieve a transparent and trusted shared-data ecosystem, the Battery Passport has been proposed as a centrepiece digital tool. The EU battery regulation will advance this concept further, thus paving the way towards social and environmental sustainability facilitated by transparency, labelling and benchmarking.
Find out more about the workshop on the IPCEI Batteries website >>
EPoSS Association: Energy Working Group
EPoSS, the European Technology Platform on Smart Systems Integration, is an industry-driven policy initiative, defining R&D and innovation needs as well as policy requirements related to Smart Systems Integration and integrated Micro- and Nanosystems. The energy working group cares about smart systems applications in the energy sector. This involves integrated sensors for batteries, stand-alone sensor devices, energy harvesting, electronic control systems, digital twins and much more. There are many interesting applications for these smart systems in batteries, electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. For more information, please visit the EPoSS Website and consider becoming a member of this innovative community.
Elektro-Mobil Programme:Â New publications on the transformation of automotive value chains and on smart power control of the charging infrastructure
The accompanying research of the funding programme "Elektro-Mobil" of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has recently published two papers. Based on a gap analysis, the impulse paper on the transformation of automotive value chains provides an overview of the topics the research projects in the funding program address. To visualize which parts of the automotive value chain are covered by the projects, the authors distinguish between vehicle and charging infrastructure, whose individual value chains are each divided into six steps. By locating the projects along these six stages as well as the overarching topic of standardization, the paper provides an overview of the coverage of the stages by the funding program.
The focus of the white paper on smart power control is the quick feasibility of power control for first use cases via an orchestration of flexible consumer loads behind the grid connection point with an energy management system and a prioritisation of the control signals. The smart charging use cases are structured by means of traffic lights between market-based price and emergency control. With the help of a map, the white paper shows the communication paths of these scenarios with actors and interfaces of the electric mobility and the corresponding standards.
For more information and download of the white paper please visit the iit-website >>
Invitation: Battery Live Talk - Solid state battery market today
The next Battery Live Talk will focus on the latest developments in the solid-state batteries market. The online event will take place on 23 February 2023, from 16.30 - 17.15 CET.
Events, conferences & networking
Below, you can find a brief overview of upcoming events and conferences related to the topic of batteries. If you are organising a battery-related conference or other event that you would like to have included in this list of our next quarterly newsletter, please click here to send us an e-mail.
Save the Date: Battery Live Talks 2023
The accompanying research team of the IPCEI programme is continuing its monthly Battery Live Talk series on important questions that arise within the battery IPCEIs and the battery ecosystem. We look forward to insightful expert keynotes and interactive discussions with you on key topics such as supply chains, future battery technology and many more.
Upcoming topics:
- February: Solid-state battery market
- March: Stationary battery storage
- April: Industry transformation and the role of machinery & equipment suppliers
Registrations will open soon. The online event is free of charge and you are kindly invited to join! If you are signed up for this newsletter, you will receive an invitation in due time.
More information on upcoming events and on previous Battery Live Talks is available on this website >>
We will also announce the Battery Live Talks in our LinkedIn group European Battery Innovation and would be happy to welcome you there. Join the group to discuss and to network with more than 3,500 battery experts. Follow us on LinkedIn >>
Legal Notice / Acknowledgements / Subscription
Acknowledgements:
Falko Loher, Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK)
VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH (VDI/VDE-IT) has been commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) to act as the project management agency and to provide scientific support for the Europe-wide "IPCEI battery cell production" project.
Together with its partners from TÜV Rheinland Consulting and Technical University of Berlin the accompanying research team provides analytics, dissemination and networking activities for the German IPCEI projects.
VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH
Department Mobility, Energy and Future Technologies
Steinplatz 1
10623 Berlin
Germany
ENCBattery@vdivde-it.de
www.vdivde-it.de
Registergericht: Amtsgericht
Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 99568
Geschäftsführer: Peter Dortans, Dr. Werner Wilke
Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Stepken
Image credits
Symbols: AdobeStock / davooda, presentationload
Photos: Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK)
