Lead producers are urging EU leaders to urgently rethink proposals to invest in setting up a Europe-wide ‘batteries alliance’ that would fail to include the region’s powerhouse lead-acid battery industry.
The call came after EU energy chief Maroš Šefčovič (pictured) told an industry summit he hosted in Brussels that a blueprint for the ‘EU Battery Alliance’ was needed to “strongly support the establishment of a full value chain of batteries in Europe, with large-scale battery cells production and the circular economy at the core”.
The summit followed earlier proposals by Šefčovič to create an “Airbus for batteries”— a consortium he said could do for batteries what the European multinationals do for the aircraft industry.
However, the International Lead Association (ILA) said the summit “focused on the race to decarbonise transportation and the role of advanced lithium battery manufacturing”— when in fact the EU should remain “technology neutral and encourage the continued development of all battery chemistries through appropriate financial and legislative stimulus”.
The ILA, which represents the producers of around three million tonnes of lead, said: “The EU is already a world leader in lead battery innovation, manufacturing and recycling, employing over 25,000 people… we urge the European Commission to support the innovative future of lead batteries, a trusted, essential and irreplaceable link in meeting Europe’s changing energy needs.”
The ILA said it agreed “on the urgent need for a clear European framework that supports innovation in battery technology— but this must recognise and support the future potential for all battery types, including lead batteries.”
ILA regulatory affairs director Steve Binks told BBB the EU was in danger of “putting all its eggs in one basket” under the current proposals.
Binks said the ILA will now lobby to get lead included in the “comprehensive roadmap” the EU has said it will draw up for the batteries alliance next February.
“We will be working to get the EU to widen its scope,” Binks said. “We will be working behind the scenes with members to speak up on this. That will certainly happen by early in the new year.”
According to the ILA, “60% of all vehicles sold in Europe in 2016 incorporated stop-start, lead battery technology” and lead batteries are also present in micro-hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles.
Lead batteries “are the most recycled consumer product on the planet with a 99% collection and recycling rate in Europe”, the ILA said. “In contrast, there is presently no commercially available process to economically recycle the majority of lithium batteries. Virtually every vehicle on the road in Europe today relies on a lead battery and this demand will continue into the foreseeable future for transportation and critical industrial applications.”
