Another significant development is active material suppliers establishing themselves in Europe. These companies acknowledge that cell production requires stable supply chains with active material for anode and cathode. European locations can significantly guarantee this stability.
The supply of inactive components such as separators or cell housings is also very important. Many recycling companies establish themselves in Europe, making it possible to establish closed-loop approaches in Europe in the medium term. Companies are looking forward to achieve high recovery rates of materials with efficient recycling processes.
Local proximity can also benefit the module and pack manufacturers, applying in particular to companies that have to purchase battery cells to manufacture battery modules. By producing battery cells in Europe, supply safety is increased for these companies.
Battery test centers are the final focus of this Battery Atlas. Before being approved, every lithium-ion battery has to pass various acceptance and performance tests. Because many companies are concurrently developing batteries, testing effort is very high, leading to test requirements exceeding test capabilities on the market. The Battery Atlas includes a map of test centers to contribute to the best possible estimation of available test capacities.
These six maps are part of the present Battery Atlas and can help to answer different questions related to the European battery industry.
Some conclusions from the Battery Atlas per map:
Battery cell manufacturers
1. In 2030, 900 GWh of battery production capacity is needed to meet the demand for battery cells in the automotive sector in Europe.
2. Asian cell manufactures, European cell manufacturers/start-ups and joint ventures between car manufacturers and cell producers make up the main players on the European cell production market.
3. Digitalization will be important to improve the production process of European factories.
Module and pack manufacturers
1. Cell manufacturers, automotive manufacturers, and suppliers make up the module and pack manufacturer market.
2. While automotive manufacturers are converting existing production facilities, cell manufacturers are planning to increase module and pack production.
3. Vertical integration is currently taking place in some cases, but classic supplier
relationships still exist.
Equipment suppliers
1. Germany leads the way in the development of production equipment for future battery production.
2. In order to shorten delivery times and adapt to customer demands, European equipment manufacturers should focus on modular systems
3. There are numerous specialists in the European equipment industry. They should act as general contractors in the coming years.
Active material suppliers
1. The worldwide distribution of raw materials is unbalanced.
2. In a bid to further reduce costs, active materials with good availability and low costs are attracting attention.
3. The production capacity of active materials in the EU is expected to rise to a total amount of over 656,000 tons per year.
Recycling companies
1. Battery recycling is not yet a standardized process.
2. Even though battery capacities are growing, many of the existing recycling companies only recycle up to the black mass.
3. To cope with the fast growing EV market, the recycling capacities announced in Europe will have to be scaled up in the near future.
Test centers
1. The battery development process is delayed by the high demand for battery test capacities.
2. The development of batteries requires additional testing capacity.
3. Currently, there are just a few test centers that can offer all the necessary certification tests from a single source.
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