European Battery Alliance to be given a EUR 1bn boost by EIB
The current crisis is not going to lower the ambitions of the European Battery Alliance. At a meeting between EU Commission Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič and European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President Andrew McDowell and high-level industry representatives on 19th of May, the Commission reiterated its support for a strong European battery ecosystem to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in key industrial ecosystems, while fostering the green and digital transition. The EIB expects to increase the amount of financing for battery-related projects to more than EUR 1 billion in 2020. This matches the level of support the EIB has offered over the last decade. Since 2010, battery projects financed by the EIB totalled EUR 950 million and supported EUR 4.7 billion of overall project costs.
“Despite the current crisis, the EBA has remained on track in its crucial work. The industry representatives made clear to me their determination to accelerate projects throughout the value chain to help create jobs and growth in Europe, while fostering the green and digital transition. According to EIT-InnoEnergy, an Acceleration Plan proposed by industry is set to create up to 1 million jobs in a European battery ecosystem worth € 210 billion by 2022”, EC Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said in a statement. He emphasized the key role played by the energy storage sector in Europe’s future recovery. “The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the need to boost our industrial resilience and economic security in strategic sectors and game-changing technologies of the future. The initiatives under the EBA can therefore forcefully support the European Union's recovery, aimed at building a more sustainable, competitive and resilient economy.”
”With the support of the European Battery Alliance, the European Investment Bank - the EU Bank - is significantly stepping up our financing of all stages of the battery value chain, from research and development, raw materials extraction and processing through to battery production, e-charging infrastructure and recycling,” added EIB Vice-President in charge of energy, Andrew McDowell.
The energy storage sector will be at the heart of Europe’s green transition and already contributes to the decarbonisation of the EU economy. It holds key solutions for low-carbon technologies such as electric vehicles. Further developing an independent European ecosystem would allow the Union to play an important role in a market which is projected to grow to EUR 250 billion/year by 2025.
The European Battery Alliance (EBA) is an initiative launched in October 2017 by European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič. The purpose is to ensure that all Europeans benefit from safer traffic, cleaner vehicles and more sustainable technological solutions, by creating a competitive and sustainable battery cell manufacturing value chain in Europe. The industrial development programme of the European Battery Alliance, the EBA250, is managed by EIT InnoEnergy. Skeleton Technologies is a member of EBA250, now a project-driven community which brings together more than 400 industrial and innovation actors.
