Valencia Battery Convention 2023

EUROBAT, the Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturers, is pleased to organise the Valencia Battery Convention together with the Valencian Government as part of the eMobility Expo & World Congress.

As has been highlighted by the European institutions in recent years, batteries are essential for the European Union to achieve its clean energy and decarbonisation objectives. Batteries will be one of the key enablers for this transition because of the important role they play in the roll-out of clean mobility and in stabilising the power grid.

In this context, on 23 March the Valencia Battery Convention will gather the key players from the EU’s battery landscape with more than 200 key stakeholders, including senior executives from the battery industry, policy-makers, NGO representatives and other stakeholders. The speakers will include the European Commission (DG ENV, DG Grow), the European Parliament, battery market analysts and industry association representatives.

This event comes at a critical moment for the European battery industry. Key EU legislative files are currently being debated, including the recent publication of the Batteries Regulation. At the same time, there are other Green Deal policies on the table, such as the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Industrial Emissions Directive, among others. These files will drive our industry in terms of energy efficiency, sustainability and decarbonisation, while we further develop the industrial ecosystem for electrical vehicles, automotive and industrial batteries in Europe.

This high-level event in Valencia takes place just before Spain assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, at a time in which key policies and strategies will need a final push before the end of the political term (2019-2024). Under this scenario, Valencia has emerged as a key place to set up a Gigafactory, which will make it one of the worldwide hubs where the mobility and the energy sectors will support the achievement of climate neutrality by 2050.

The programme currently consists of the following sessions and speakers:

10:00-10.20	Welcome and introduction: Keynote speech highlighting the Green European Industry within Open Strategic Autonomy: Ximo Puig, President of the Valencian Region
10.20-12.00	Session I – The Batteries Regulation and the evolving regulatory framework in the EU. Is the EU ready for the green transition?
	Keynote speech: Thomas Dahlem, CEO, PowerCo Panel session:  Moderated by Anna Gumbau Rene Schroeder, Executive Director, EUROBAT César Santos, Policy Officer leading the Batteries Regulation, DG ENV, European Commission Kamila Slupek, Sustainability Director, Eurometaux Liu Ziyu, Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs, CATL Q&A
12.00-14.00	Session II – Strengthening the EU's strategic independence. Can the EU build a sustainable value chain for critical raw materials?
	Keynote speech: Inma Rodríguez-Piñero, MEP
	Video message: Manuel Szapiro, head of the European Commission representation in Barcelona and former cabinet member of former VP for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic. Panel session: Moderated by Alfons Westgeest, EUROBAT Ander Muelas,  President, Endurance Motive Hege Marie Norheim, Executive Vice-President, Freyr Francesco Gattiglio, Director External Affairs, EU, Albemarle Q&A
14.00-15.30	Lunch
15.30-17.30	Session III – Electric Dreams: Innovating the Future of Mobility and Energy Storage
	Keynote speech: Rebeca Torró, Consellera de Transportes Generalitat
	Panel session: Moderated by Anna Gumbau David Salvo, CEO, Power Electronics Ilka von Dalwigk, EBA250 Policy Manager, European Battery Alliance Fernando Acebrón - Director of Institutional Relations and Government Affairs Leire Zubizarreta - R&D Project Manager at ITE Q&A
17.20-17.40	Closing remarks: ‎Sra. Diana Morant, Spanish Minister for Science and Innovation