EUROBAT statement on the European Commission’s Net Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act

EUROBAT applauds the European Commission for the publication of the Net Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act yesterday. They represent a positive step towards a European industrial plan for cleantech, critical for providing much needed clarity for investors and operators along the clean energy value chains.

The Net Zero Industry Act correctly recognises batteries as a critical enabler for achieving the ambitious EU Green Deal objectives, and introduces accelerated administrative procedures and capital support for critical investments along the battery value chain. However, a thorough assessment of the target for battery manufacturing capacity within the Union, able to meet at least 85% of annual battery demand, is needed.

EUROBAT has been consistently calling for the European Critical ‎Raw Materials Act to support the further development of clean technologies making use of raw materials. Batteries, in particular, represent a key growth vector of raw material demand. EUROBAT supports the Critical Raw Materials Act’s intent to develop an EU value chain for raw materials—through production targets, accelerated permitting processes and a sound ESG approach—and make the EU’s global approach to raw materials more strategic.

EU battery manufacturers believe consistency across legislation regulating batteries is necessary to provide industry with clarity. In this regard, the new Batteries Regulation (soon to be published) should be considered the main piece of legislation for batteries and the scope of other legislation should be aligned when it comes to batteries.