Europe is in danger of losing a key “green” manufacturing industry to Asia. Sound familiar? This time it is Europe’s nascent battery industry that is facing a shaky future. Slowing electric car sales are adding to existing problems, such as cheap battery imports from an oversupplied China.
As European automakers scale back their electric vehicle plans, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is forecasting nearly 14 per cent lower demand in Europe for cells in 2030 than it was a year ago.
Battery makers have responded by delaying or cancelling their own projects. Northvolt of Sweden, Europe’s leading domestic battery hope, said this week it would cut jobs and trim other activities to focus on its first gigafactory in northern Sweden. Volkswagen’s battery business PowerCo is among others that have moderated ambitions.