European Battery Supply Chain – From Raw Materials to Cell Production

The rapid build-up of cell manufacturing capacity in Europe and elsewhere in the world has created new dependencies and shortages in material supply. In order to get an overview over the current situation in Europe, the authors tracked relevant production sites for the Lithium-Ion-Battery industry. Based on our tracking, we will give an overview over the current situation along the battery value chain starting from the extraction of raw materials to the manufacturing of battery cells in Europe. Likewise, by analyzing company announcements for the build-up of new production sites and production site expansions, we display the possible development until 2030. By comparing our results with the benchmarks for domestic capacities that have been recently announced with the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), we will give a first glimpse which commodities are on track and which are not.

In summary, there will be significant changes in the battery value chain in Europe till 2030. While the outlook for Lithium and Manganese is optimistic, other commodities like Cobalt and Graphite will struggle to meet the CRMA benchmarks for domestic capacities. Even though new projects will increase Europe’s strategic autonomy, the upstream supply will not keep pace with the predicted fast growing European cell manufacturing capacity. Therefore, reliable partnerships with countries outside Europe are needed to secure a stable and resilient battery supply chain in Europe.