Europe needs its own battery supply chain to meet the needs of carmakers as they shift towards electric cars, according to Umicore, the Belgium-based producer of battery materials. Giant battery factories planned for Hungary, Poland and Germany need to be supplied with materials processed in Europe rather than Asia, Umicore’s chief executive Marc Grynberg said. “Given the sheer size of the requirements to the European industry similar to what’s happening in Asia it makes most sense in my opinion to have a regional supply chain,” Mr Grynberg told the Financial Times. Last year the European Commission said it will offer billions of euros of co-funding to companies willing to build giant battery factories on the continent. Over 80 per cent of the world’s existing and planned battery production is in Asia. The world’s largest battery producer s including Korea’s LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation have all invested in battery factories in Poland and Hungary. Last month Mercedes-Benz owned Daimler also said it would build a factory in Poland. China’s CATL, the world’s largest battery producer, said last year that it will build a factory in Germany.
FT 14th Feb 2019 read more »
A Dutch start-up has designed an electric vehicle that runs solely on solar energy, and aims to deliver its first models next year. The car will also be available to lease.
PV Magazine 14th Feb 2019 read more »
