A 2020 study commissioned by EUROBAT to understand the ability of Europe’s battery industry to cope with future demand linked to current and emerging battery applications concluded that:
The EU represents around 17% of the global market with a turnover of €81 billion across all battery technologies and applications. This will increase to 26% by 2030 with an EU and global turnover of €35 billion and €135 billion respectively.
Li-ion and lead-based batteries will be the two mainstream technologies by 2030 and both are needed to serve the anticipated increase in demand and applications.
The EU lead-based battery industry will maintain a strong position and be able to meet projected growth, but will require ongoing investment in R&D and production enhancement
If the current and scheduled giga plants come online effectively the European Li-ion battery industry will have the capacity to serve growing demand from 2023/24.
For automotive applications:
- Across all levels of e-mobility, lead-based batteries will continue to be dominant in the 12V market – both for SLI (start, lighting, ignition) and auxiliary functionalities. By 2030, it is estimated that only 3% of new cars will be fitted with a lithium 12V battery.
- For xEV traction batteries, lithium-based batteries will remain the exclusive chemistry.
For industrial batteries:
- Lead batteries will still be dominant for UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) and Telecom applications in 2030.
- Lithium-based batteries will be almost exclusively the preferred technology for Energy Storage Systems (ESS) by 2030.
For Motive Power applications, where today lead-based batteries still dominate, there will be a gradual shift to lithium-based by 2030.
