Brussels, 05.07.2022 – At the end of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU, it will be two years since the Commission  proposed the new Batteries Regulation. While it is key that negotiating teams can discuss openly on the measures of the  proposed Regulation, RECHARGE encourages the Presidency to pick up the pace and conclude the Regulation under its 6- months term. Developing a competitive and sustainable batteries industry in Europe is urgent: it will contribute to energy  security and the strategic resilience of the EU economy – both of which are priorities of the Presidency.  

Tomorrow the Czech Presidency presents its programme to the European Parliament. Following the important progress made  during the French Presidency during which the Council reached a general approach, the Czech Republic needs to prioritise this  important file now in inter-institutional negotiations. The Presidency will now be pivotal in ensuring the trilogue discussions continue and conclude with a compromised reached. We expect that the measures in the new Regulation will deliver on  advancing the decarbonisation and energy transition, and that the European batteries value chain becomes a competitive  global leader, able to contribute to energy security on the continent and to a resilient EU economy. 

The current geopolitical context has demonstrated the vulnerability of our energy system and the crucial necessity for the EU to reduce its dependencies in value chains of strategic interest. Such an approach will be essential to prevent potential future  crises from detrimentally impacting key EU industries. “Importantly, existing dependencies in the energy sector should not be  replicated in the case of batteries”, stated Claude Chanson, General Manager of RECHARGE.  

“We are calling for a swift development and strengthening of the batteries industry on our continent. Against the background  of this new context, which highlights the urgency of fostering industrial resilience, the EU must decrease its high dependency  on imported batteries”, added Chanson. Europe accounts only for a small share of around 7% of the global battery production today, while China takes the lion’sshare. When moving away from oil and natural gas, both in the energy and transport sectors,  Europe should simultaneously become more autonomous and support the electrification and renewables development with a  European battery ecosystem.  

Creating a strong batteries industry will depend on long-term investments and a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework. About  800,000 new jobs are expected to be created before 2030 if Europe manages to increase its market share to 20%. The new Batteries Regulation needs to support this industrial dynamic and ensure a competitive and leading European value chain, able  to decrease European dependency on imported batteries.  

However, the intrinsic difficulty of enforcing several of the proposed design requirements in the Regulation is likely to create  an uneven playing field, in which the EU industry will bear the burden of the regulatory constraints, while control of compliance  with the sustainability rules for imported products is expected to be insufficient. “Enshrining too many constraints and  regulatory hurdles within the Batteries Regulation within a too short timeline would risk setting back value chain efforts and  planned investments and could ultimately endanger reaching the EU’s strategic resilience and energy security objectives”,  concluded Chanson.  

Thus, RECHARGE is calling on policymakers to thoroughly take into account the value chain’s recommendations for the inter institutional negotiations under the Czech Presidency. 

**ENDS** 

RECHARGE is the European industry association for advanced rechargeable and lithium batteries. Founded in 1998, it is our mission to promote advanced  rechargeable batteries as a key technology that will contribute to a more empowered, sustainable and circular economy by enabling decarbonised electricity  and mobility, and cutting-edge consumer products. RECHARGE’s unique membership covers all aspects of the advanced rechargeable battery value chain:  From suppliers of primary and secondary raw materials, to battery and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), to logistic partners and battery recyclers.  www.rechargebatteries.org 

Contact: Kinga Timaru-Kast, Public Affairs & Communications Director, ktimaru-Kast@rechargebatteries.org, +32 486 996 870