EU Could End Reliance On Chinese Battery Supply Chain By 2030 Says T&E

[RV_]

Excellent article outlining our current dependence on Chinese raw materials and finished batteries. It shows how Europe should be free of China for their cars.

Excerpt:

"It’s well known that over the past decade, China has pretty much dominated the lithium-ion battery supply chain. It controls the supply of lithium as a raw material and virtually every step in the supply chain that goes into making that lithium suitable for making EV batteries. Why China has such nearly total command of the battery supply chain involves a detailed lesson in history and global politics.

Suffice it to say most of the so-called western world was perfectly content to let China take the lead and China was only too happy to oblige. The Chinese government foresaw the opportunities available in the transition to electric transportation and heavily subsidized those who sought to exploit them. The rest of the world dozed serenely while China was rushing full speed ahead into the future. Now that the EV revolution is in full swing, the chickens have come home to roost. Nations are waking up to the reality that unless they act decisively now, they will be as much in thrall to China for batteries as they once were to OPEC for oil.

A Call For A European Sovereignty Fund

Environmental advocacy group Transport & Environment has published a new report entitled A European Response to US IRA: How Europe can use its soft and financial powers to build a successful electric vehicle value chain. The summary states:

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The European Green Deal is one of the world’s most ambitious climate policies to usher the European Union into the net zero economy by 2050. To happen, it will require a massive ramp up of technologies from wind turbines to electric car batteries, but the question is how much of the value will be captured by industry in Europe.

The global race to lead the production of these cleantech, as well as raw materials that go into them, has been unfolding for a few years now. Europe has secured much commitment and investment in the area of electric cars (EV) and batteries already. Dozens of billions have poured into scaling EV manufacturing and batteries. Over half of all lithium-ion batteries on the EU market in 2022 were produced in Europe, with the continent projected to become the world’s second biggest battery cell manufacturer by the end of the decade.

But the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), launched in August 2022, has changed the rules of the industrial game and might make companies re-prioritize the current announcements in Europe towards the US. For EVs and batteries, the risk is that the projects — and therefore Europe’s ambition — gets delayed. For critical metals and their processing, where Europe is only starting to catch up, the risk is that investments would simply go elsewhere.

In just a few months since the launch of the US IRA, investments into battery factories, new mines, and electric vehicles have mushroomed in North America. This is in response to the requirement that 40% of battery metals need to come from the US and half of all battery components made in North America from 2024 for the full EV tax credit to apply. The battery supply chain of an electric car will receive up to $50 of subsidy per each kWh of battery capacity, or over a third of the total battery costs today."

Much more in the article here:

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/30/eu-could-end-reliance-on-chinese-battery-supply-chain-by-2030-says-te/

[Vladimir]

The EU can talk about ending reliance on chinese battery supply chains.

But it is just talk.  

The only people that can end the West reliance on China energy chains are those that PRODUCE the material.  

Really, at this point it all depends on Africa.  I would hope that the kids working on the mines in Africa will soon be paid fair wages.

[Randyretired]

Many of the EV manufactures are moving to LFP batteries. These don't use cobalt.  Chile has the largest mines today but lithium is found in a number of places and is plentiful.   Of course gearing up to mine and prepare lithium will take time.

[RV_]

On 2/4/2023 at 5:55 PM, Vladimir said:

The EU can talk about ending reliance on chinese battery supply chains.

But it is just talk.  

The only people that can end the West reliance on China energy chains are those that PRODUCE the material.  

Really, at this point it all depends on Africa.  I would hope that the kids working on the mines in Africa will soon be paid fair wages.

Wrong!

In the excerpt:

"The European Green Deal is one of the world’s most ambitious climate policies to usher the European Union into the net zero economy by 2050. To happen, it will require a massive ramp up of technologies from wind turbines to electric car batteries, but the question is how much of the value will be captured by industry in Europe."

And there is more in the article on moving production to the US and we do have untapped resources.

If you are going to nay say posts of mine point out which parts you agree with and which you don't.

But you have to read the article first not react to the headline. It is there and more in black and white above.

Since I supply the links you can also go to the original article and comment there and get an answer.

They said they are going to produce the raw materials.

[RV_]

On 2/4/2023 at 7:33 PM, Randyretired said:

Many of the EV manufactures are moving to LFP batteries. These don't use cobalt.  Chile has the largest mines today but lithium is found in a number of places and is plentiful.   Of course gearing up to mine and prepare lithium will take time.

Everything takes time and LFP is a great transitional until solid state are ready for prime time which they are not.

In the article they are shooting for 2050.

For everyone interested in what's doable,when, and what is being done now.

Here is an 8 minute video that explains the different battery types and solid state my bet on the winner:

That video is from this article in Autoweek that starts with this paragraph:

"The world of the internal combustion engine will sadly, but very necessarily, come to a close at some point in many of our lifetimes. Hybrids and electric vehicles are becoming more affordable and more advanced at a rapid pace, which means batteries are taking the place of fossil fuels. This has led to an equally rapid progression in battery technology, with the main goals of improving capacity, charging times, and safety. One major advancement in this field is the advent of solid-state batteries, which promise to push the boundaries of the limitations that current lithium-ion batteries carry."

This Autoweek article with links to related interesting articles:

https://www.autoweek.com/news/technology/a36189339/solid-state-batteries/#:~:text=Solid-state batteries are%2C for now%2C still in development.,partnership with battery produces on their own projects.

 

[RV_]

Phasing Out Internal Combustion Engines? It’s Already Happening

 

• Several automakers have already confessed to having stopped development on any new internal combustion engines.
• Some have taken the multistep approach, however, phasing out development in some markets before others.
• A visible glimpse of the end: Cadillac has said the CT4 and CT5 are last V-cars it will produce.

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The automakers are making it official—they’re phasing out internal combustion and heading, with varying degrees of happiness, into an all-electric future. So at what point does the more than 120-year history of producing and improving gas and diesel engines actually stop? Some carmakers are saying that process is already well underway, and no more multimillion-dollar engine development plans will get approved.

Stellantis was late to electrification, but it is making up for lost time in 2021, especially since the Fiat Chrysler/PSA merger that created the company. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe is a plug-in hybrid with a four-cylinder turbo engine and two electric motors for a combined 350 hp. Asked if the gas engine had reached the end of the line, Stellantis spokeswoman Lisa Barrow said, “We have said there will be a 4xe powertrain for the redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee. We haven’t made any other engine announcements yet.”

Source with much more:

https://www.autoweek.com/news/a36292118/phasing-out-internal-combustion-engines/