1000GWh! 38 existing and under construction electric vehicle super battery factories in Europe

1000GWh! 38 existing and under construction electric vehicle super battery factories in Europe

A report released by the EU NGO Transport and Environment Federation in June showed that the total number of super factories built or under construction in existing projects in Europe reached 38. The total annual output is expected to be 1,000 GWh, equivalent to producing 16.7 million pure vehicles Batteries for electric vehicles.

According to reports, 17 of the 38 electric vehicle battery super factories under construction or planned in Europe have already confirmed funding, with an estimated maximum of 30 billion U.S. dollars; the other 10 have also confirmed partial financing and financial support. The investment is expected to be no less than 16.8 billion U.S. dollars; the remaining 11 have also been announced, but there is still a lack of firm commitments in terms of site selection, planned production capacity and investment.

With the completion of 38 super factories, the output of electric car batteries in Europe will also increase significantly. It is expected to produce 462GWh in 2025 and increase to 1144GWh in 2030, which is 13 times the 87GWh expected to be supplied this year. Europe itself The supply capacity of electric vehicle batteries in China will be significantly enhanced.　

The T&E report pointed out that it is not easy to achieve such an amount of annual supply. During this period, it will still rely heavily on Asian batteries and technologies. This situation will even continue until 2029-2030.

In addition, T&E also reminded that according to current forecasts, by 2025, only one-third of the planned battery production facilities in Europe will be needed. For example, it is estimated that by 2025, the European Union and the United Kingdom will open battery facilities with a total capacity of 462GWh, but it is estimated that the demand for electric vehicle batteries that year will be only 174GWh. T&E hopes to pass more stringent carbon dioxide emission regulations to promote the growth of electric vehicle sales by 2025. At the same time, T&E also predicts that if European battery production capacity increases rapidly, the demand for materials will increase significantly. By 2030, European demand for lithium is expected to soar 18 times, and it will also require five times more cobalt. For this reason, Europe has vigorously developed battery technology and set a new goal, that is, "less materials, more batteries." It is hoped that by 2030, the task of reducing the average lithium content per kilowatt-hour of electric vehicle batteries by half.

Battery Network noted that in March of this year, Lucien Mathieu, a transportation and electric vehicle analyst at T&E, said that fuel vehicles and electric vehicles are not comparable in terms of raw materials. Throughout its life cycle, an ordinary fossil-fuel car burns the equivalent of a stack of 25-story oil barrels. And if you take into account the recycling of battery materials, electric cars will only lose about 30 kilograms of metal-about the size of a football. Overall, electric vehicles have a much better impact on the climate, requiring 58% less energy than gasoline vehicles in their lifetime. The study also found that by 2035, more than one-fifth of the lithium and 65% of the cobalt needed to make new batteries may come from recycling. T&E stated that the recycling rate required by the European Commission's new law will significantly reduce the demand for new materials for electric vehicles-something that traditional cars cannot do.