Europe is committed to achieving electric mobility. The theoretical end of the combustion engine in new cars by 2035 and the announcements of new battery factories throughout Europe, such as the one in Sagunto.
They are good news for jobs, but "the chances of the EU becoming the world leader in battery production do not look good," warns the Court of Auditors of the European Union.
And it is that it is not enough to build factories to manufacture batteries; those production centers must also be supplied. And that is the crux of the matter. In its report published on Monday, the European Commission points to problems with the availability of raw materials, the increase in the cost of raw materials and energy, and global competition that could undermine Europe's competitiveness.
Our dependence on raw materials in the hands of third countries could go further
If we manage to reach the goal of selling only electric cars by 2035, it will only be thanks to the importation of the bulk of the batteries, "which would harm the European industry," says AnnemieTurtelboom. And that is already a more serious problem.
Even more seriously, there is a risk of changing our dependence on fossil fuels produced by third parties for that raw materials. Europe "must not end up in a situation of dependency as has happened with natural gas; its economic sovereignty is at stake," says AnnemieTurtelboom.
A dependence on China, in the case of batteries, is already a fact. China represents 76% of the world's production of batteries for electric cars and the European Union only 7%.
And in the case of raw materials, Europe depends on a small group of countries for its supply of cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese, and natural graphite (key elements in the production of a battery). About 87% of the crude lithium is imported from Australia, 80% of the manganese from South Africa and Gabon, 68% of the cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 40% of the natural graphite from China.
In addition to not having free trade agreements with these countries, which could facilitate supply, some of these countries carry associated geopolitical risks that could jeopardize supply, underlines the Court of Auditors.
A future shortage of raw materials
To top it off, the EU Court of Auditors predicts that "in the near future, European battery production will face a global shortage of essential raw materials." And if we depend on third parties and there is a shortage, to meet the 2035 goal, we will only have to buy electric cars from those who have that supply.
The EU Court of Auditors cites forecasts by the European Commission's research department (JRC), according to which the global shortage will hit hard in 2030, just when "most of the EU's battery production capacity will be operational."
A prediction that coincides with those of the IEA (International Energy Agency), which ensures that the world's production capacity for copper, cobalt, and lithium in 2030 will not be enough to meet world demand.
Of course, all this will not cause the price of electric cars to drop, on the contrary. By increasing production costs due to the cost of raw materials, electric cars could become unaffordable for a large number of motorists, which would cause "a drop in demand for electric vehicles and a reduction in the economic interest to invest in installations of electric vehicles." production".
In short, the report of the Court of Auditors of the EU is quite pessimistic. If it continues like this, it is understood that according to the European body, the future of the European electric car is in danger.
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