European Battery Alliance discusses main challenges in the face of increasingly assertive industrial policies globally

The 7th High-Level Meeting of the European Battery Alliance (EBA) took place in Brussels on Wednesday, chaired by Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and organised in cooperation with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The ministerial discussion, involving 27 Member States and Norway, focused on ways to foster the global competitiveness of the European battery industry in the face of assertive industrial policies globally, while in some instances, altering the global playing field.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, as well as Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Thomas Östros, and Vice-President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Mark Bowman, also addressed the participants.

In 2022, total investment in the EU’s battery ecosystem topped €180 billion. This covers over 160 industrial projects in place or in the making, along the entire value chain, amounting to some 70 GWh of installed battery capacity.

To sustain Europe’s clean tech leadership, the Chair and the Swedish Presidency have agreed on the key takeaways. The press point which followed the meeting is available here, and Vice-President Šefčovič‘s opening remarks are available here.