Speech by Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič at the BASF 'Battery materials meets recycling' event

Thank you Martin [Brudermüller].

Dear Minister Habeck [Robert], dear Minister President Woidke [Dietmar].

Ladies and gentlemen.

It's a pleasure to be here today to join you for the inauguration event of the BASF production plant for cathode active materials and your kick-off of the black mass recycling plant.

The European Commission is fully supportive of the battery sector, of Brandenburg's transition, and more generally of any efforts for greener industries.

The strategic battery sector will benefit from the investments made here, in Brandenburg.

The pioneering path being followed by Brandenburg in championing clean technologies is remarkable. It supports Europe's ambition to make a successful transition towards greener industries that are cleaner and take account of their impact on the environment.

It is all the more admirable as this region has already undergone structural changes.

Five years ago, shortly after having worked to set up the European Battery Alliance [in 2017], I visited the Lausitz mining area and I am pleased to see that Brandenburg is now leading by example with promising projects in areas such as batteries, as we see here, and hydrogen.

It is also at the forefront of Europe's transition to renewable energy. I understand that the ‘Energy Strategy 2040' put forward by the government of Brandenburg is already bearing fruit.

The European Union supports these efforts with significant funds, complementing the funding from the Federal government. I am glad to know that this support has played a key role in enabling Brandenburg's transition.

Investing in a key value chain such as batteries is clearly a strategic endeavour. I can assure you that this is a priority that has the full attention of the EU.

First, because the EU battery market is rapidly growing.

Demand for batteries is expected to continue to increase drastically in the coming years for both mobility and storage [just for lithium-ion batteries: from 550 GWh by 2025 to 1000 GWh in 2030].

Second, because batteries are key to enabling the automotive industry's shift to zero-CO2-emission electric vehicles and for the storage of renewable energy.

Finally, alongside recycling, these investments reduce our overdependencies on the import of the critical raw materials needed to manufacture batteries.

They help us to ensure Europe's economic resilience, with a focus on what we call “open strategic autonomy”.

That is why we are committed to continue building the battery ecosystem in Europe.

This work is being carried out under the umbrella of the European Battery Alliance, and I want to thank BASF for its active role in this endeavour. The Alliance has had a key role in turning Europe's battery sector into a fast-growing battery ecosystem.

So far, we have attracted more than 180 billion Euros in private investment.

There are now more than 160 industrial projects being developed along the entire value chain, with around 30 announced lithium-ion gigafactories [and around 70 GWh installed capacity by 2022].

This – I have to say – is huge progress in such a short space of time and it has only been possible thanks to the efforts of industrial players and European researchers, backed by political support at all levels – including from Robert and Dietmar.

BASF's investments here have benefited directly from this work.

The BASF plant we are inaugurating today can act as a blueprint for others. With its focus on advanced cathode active material, with high sustainability standards and the kick-off of a novel recycling process, it demonstrates that we can boost the EU's sustainable competitiveness and reduce its dependencies in a strategic sector, while accelerating the green transition.

And I think it is something that you can be proud of.

Looking at the global picture, we know that the measures taken by other countries and regions are affecting our capacity to succeed in the green and digital transition.

We are looking carefully at China's massive subsidies to its industry, in particular clean-tech innovation and manufacturing, and ways to protect our own. Where trade is not fair, we must respond more robustly.

We will still need to work and trade with China. So, we need to focus on de-risking rather than decoupling.

And we are in touch with our American friends on their Inflation Reduction Act, which could lead to unfair competition, could close markets, and fragment critical supply chains.

I can assure you that we are in constant touch with our partners and remain committed to addressing unfair practices and supporting our industry to ensure a level-playing field.

Moreover, the Batteries Regulation will make batteries sustainable throughout their entire lifecycle – from the sourcing of materials to their collection, recycling and repurposing.

The Commission has also taken action under the Green Deal Industrial Plan.

We recently proposed a Net Zero Industry Act and a Critical Raw Materials Act.

They include actions for simpler and more efficient planning and permitting processes, and our push for a comprehensive network of charging stations for electric vehicles is part of this.

We are also working to ensure the European economy of the future has the workforce it needs.

For example, through our Battery Academy, we are set to re-skill 50,000 workers by the end of this year, to help meet demand as the industry expands.

We are also building strategic raw material partnerships with resource-rich countries in partner regions to diversify supply sources.

Last but not least, we have invested in supporting research and innovation, for example, through the 925 million-euro Battery Partnership with industry under our Horizon Europe programme, and we will continue to do so.

I'll stop here, but let me just recall that the European Union has clearly affirmed its ambition to be a net-zero economy by 2050, under the European Green Deal.

Batteries is a key sector for this transition. So I am heartened to see projects like the one BASF here in Schwarzheide. It is perfect example of the work we can do to boost Europe's booming battery industry.

Congratulations again on this achievement!

Thank you.