Batteries
Race for lithium illustrates EU drive for ‘strategic’ raw materials
The European Union is accelerating plans to develop lithium mining and refining capacity on its territory as part of a concerted EU push to develop a strategic value chain for manufacturing electric car batteries inside Europe.
EU’s Sefcovic: Real risk that ‘raw materials become the new oil’
Europeans have to be “very vigilant” that today’s dependency on imported oil and gas is not replaced by dependency on lithium, cobalt, copper and other raw materials that industries need for the green transition, Maroš Šefčovič told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Bill Gates launches EU clean energy ‘breakthrough’ fund in Brussels
The newly-established €100 million fund will help innovative European companies bring “radically new” clean energy technologies to the market, including the “holy grail” of batteries, the European Commission said.
Rethinking transport: Driving Europe towards sustainable mobility
As cutting emissions out of transport gains in political and scientific importance, Diego Garcia Carvajal writes during European Mobility Week that the time is ripe to embrace electric cars on a grand scale.
Active energy storage for EV charging
Among alternative fuel vehicles, electric cars are the best positioned to overcome refuelling infrastructure challenges, writes Ian McClenny. The difficulty lies in having sufficient vehicle charging availability to reduce consumer’s range anxiety.
Poland’s transport sector searches for top gear
The EU is rolling out more and more initiatives to boost e-mobility and the use of alternative fuels. Poland’s secretary of state for energy explains how his country is tackling the transport sector with an ambitious new plan.
Blossoming batteries boosted by EU plan
Batteries and storage are set to become even more important as electro-mobility and renewable energy go from strength to strength. That is why EU efforts are meant to help the burgeoning industry compete against the likes of China and electric carmaker Tesla.
Ørsted lines up first major UK battery storage project
Energy firm Ørsted has announced its first venture into large-scale energy storage systems, after announcing plans to build and operate a 20MW battery storage project near Liverpool. EURACTIV's media partners edie.net reports.
How Europe can regain industrial championship in clean mobility
Chinese manufacturers have built an impressive production network in Europe and are winning pure electric car and bus tenders in cities like Turin, Amsterdam and London. In Europe, the Clean Vehicles Directive can help make up for the time lost, argues Claude Turmes.
Europe must regain the lead in clean automotive innovation
The EU must adopt policies that put European manufacturers on the right track to compete with the global shift to low carbon transport, writes Andrey Kovatchev.
Energy storage progress could slash electric car charging times
Researchers have claimed a breakthrough in energy storage technology that could enable electric cars to be driven as far as petrol and diesel vehicles, and recharge in minutes rather than hours. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
EU bank approves financing for ‘Europe’s largest battery factory’
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €52.5 million in financing for Swedish battery cell manufacturer Northvolt, a bank executive said on Monday (12 February), part of a European Union push to compete with Asian and US manufacturers.
Airbus-style EU battery alliance splits before take-off
Initially branded as an Airbus-style consortium, the European battery alliance is more likely to look like a network of smaller industrial and innovation clusters, according to the European Commission Vice-President in charge of the Energy Union, one of the main advocates of the project.
Canete defends ‘balanced’ EU proposal on car emissions
The EU Commissioner in charge of Climate Action, Miguel Arias Cañete, has fought back accusations that Brussels lacked ambition in setting new CO2 limits on cars for 2030, saying the proposal “strikes the right balance” between environmental, social and industrial policy objectives.
‘Near total’ renewable energy system within reach: Lord Adair Turner
Prices of green electricity and batteries have fallen so sharply that even projections for an 85-90% renewables energy system in 2035 now look “ludicrously conservative”, Lord Adair Turner said while on a visit to Brussels.
Top EU climate official issues ‘wake-up call’ on batteries for EVs
European industry is lagging behind in the manufacturing of batteries that power electric vehicles, warned the top official in charge of the European Commission’s department for climate action.
European battery alliance launched in Brussels
The European Commission hosted auto, chemical and engineering executives in Brussels yesterday (11 October) to develop battery manufacturing in the EU to compete with Asian and US manufacturers.
EU power utility boss: ‘Coal is finished, the hard question now is gas’
Apart from Poland, there are no plans to build new coal-fired power plants in Europe, says Francesco Starace. The hard question today is instead who will build a new gas power plant. “And many companies are not doing that either,” he told EURACTIV in an interview.
Build batteries or lose jobs, auto bosses tell Europe
Europe shouldn’t rush to abandon the combustion engine and must build up its own production of electric car batteries to compete with China, auto suppliers and manufacturers said at the Frankfurt motor show.
Britain launches fund to boost electric battery technology
Britain launched a £246 million fund on Monday (24 July) to boost the development and manufacturing of electric batteries, a major growth area for the car and energy sectors.
Energy Union is about re-inventing our economy
The European Commission's Winter Package of Energy Union laws will be a turning point for clean energy, writes Maroš Šefčovič. But the spirit of the package goes further than clean energy or tackling climate change – it’s also about economic transformation, he argues.
European power grid operators gear up for digital transformation
The next wave of digital innovation – and disruption – in the electricity sector will rely on artificial intelligence and Blockchain technology, according to the new boss of the European power grid operators association, ENTSO-E, who is drafting an IT roadmap for publication later this year.
EU fines Sony, Panasonic and Sanyo €166m in battery cartel case
The European Commission has hit Sony, Panasonic and Sanyo with a €166 million fine after finding the three tech giants guilty of forging a cartel for rechargeable batteries.
