EU battery supply chain faces looming crisis

Europe faces a severe shortage of key materials needed to manufacture the batteries that power the EU’s clean energy transition, according to a new study published on April 25.

Eurometaux, which represents European non-ferrous metals producers and recyclers, said independent research by Belgium's KU Leuven research university showed the EU could face global supply shortages around 2030 for five metals in particular: lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earths and copper .

At the same time, the study said coal-powered metal production in China and Indonesia would dominate global growth in battery metals and rare earth smelting capacity, while Europe would remain reliant on Russia for aluminium, nickel and copper supplies.

'Unsustainable suppliers'

The study said Europe would face "severe shortages" over the next 15 years because no more metals would be mined and refined to supply the batteries needed for electric vehicles, energy storage systems and renewable energy infrastructure.

“Europe urgently needs to decide how to fill its looming primary metals supply gap,” said Liesbet Gregoir, lead author of the study. “Without a decisive strategy, it risks creating new dependencies on unsustainable suppliers.”

The study recommends that Europe should work with “proven responsible suppliers” to manage environmental and social risks, and questions why the EU has not yet followed other major countries such as China in investing in mines to ensure environmental, social and governance standards.

bottleneck

If Europe "invests significantly now and addresses bottlenecks", three-quarters of battery cathodes manufactured in Europe could be produced from recycled metals by 2050, the study said.

However, the study also said recycling "will not become a major source of supply for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy technologies in Europe before 2040".

Meeting the EU's so-called green deal's climate-neutral goals by 2050 would require 35 times more lithium and seven to 26 times more increasingly scarce rare earth metals " compared to Europe's current limited use," the study said .

(Original source: Energy Storage Magazine Global Energy Storage Network, New Energy Network Comprehensive)