ACEA, batteries and raw materials: this is what the EU should do

To scale up production of batteries for electric cars, companies will need to ensureaccess to a stable supply of all raw materials necessary. The problem is that, today, the main raw materials for the production of accumulators come from countries outside the European Union. This means for the nascent European battery industry having to depend on other countries.

To reduce this dependency and facilitate the transition to electric mobility, it is essential that the European Union supports it development of the European battery value chain. Next week, the European Commission is expected to present the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), a set of regulatory proposals that will serve to ensure the availability of critical raw materials for European industries.

ACEA, the association of European car manufacturers, welcomes the forthcoming presentation of the Critical Raw Materials Act which will be crucial for the battery industry in Europe. However, the association goes further, proposing some necessary actions to strengthen the availability of critical raw materials.

Access to critical raw materials is therefore essential for the creation and proper functioning of the European EV battery value chain. For this reason, in view of the publication of the Critical Raw Materials Act, ACEA indicates six principles on which the European Union should base its strategy.

• Creating an investment-friendly environment for mining, refining and recycling projects through low energy prices, fast permitting procedures, practical environmental standards and employee retraining.
• Strengthen, through industrial policy measures, the capacity to remove barriers to the extraction, refining and processing of critical strategic raw materials.
• Improve security of supply and diversity of raw material sources through free trade agreements and partnerships.
• Strengthen the role of the circular economy to increase the availability of secondary raw materials.
• Ensure that access to critical raw materials, whether domestically sourced, externally sourced or through recycling methods, complies with international standards and adheres to sustainable practices that fully respect human rights and the environment.
• Identify strategic projects in the areas of recycling, recovery and substitution of critical raw materials and ensure that these have access to finance, while supporting the development and implementation of innovative practices along supply chains.