The challenge of sustainable value chains for European E-mobility

Electrifying European transport is a clear-cut way to get greenhouse gas emissions off European roads. And while even e-vehicles run on electricity from grids with lower shares of wind and solar power generation have a lesser impact on the climate as traditional combustion engine cars, a host of challenges evolve around the core of e-mobility’s value chain: batteries.

The demand for lithium, cobalt, graphite and copper is soaring, but these raw materials are mostly imported from outside the EU. Many of the underlying value chains endanger local communities, causing human rights violations and environmental destruction. While these problems are now widely recognised, current controversies on lithium mining within the EU are attached to a lot of question marks. Meanwhile, recycling of batteries is not only key to safeguard the environment, it is also a largely neglected and untapped element to limit the consumption of ever-new raw materials and boost sufficiency.

During this event, we will discuss challenges for European battery manufacturing and the way forward for the EU Battery Alliance, debate the role of political regulation for sustainable battery value chains and get insights on how recycling of batteries can play a bigger role.

Program

14:00 Welcome by Martin Keim, Head of the European Energy Transition Programme, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, and Chief Executive Editor of the European Mobility Atlas 2021

14:05 Debate moderated by Martin Keim with:

• Henrike Hahn, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA Group), shadow rapporteur on the own Initiative Report on the European strategy for critical raw materials in the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
  Carole Mathieu, Research Fellow at the Center for Energy & Climate of the French Institute for International Relations, Ifri
• Nicolas Steinbacher, Head of Strategy & Program (Germany), Northvolt, Stockholm
  Alex Keynes, Manager, Clean Vehicles, Transport & Environment, Brussels
  14:45 Q&A

15:00 Parallel breakout sessions with the audience:

Breakout Session 1: Raw Materials, Due Diligence and Recycling of Batteries – with Rita Tedesco, Senior Programme Manager, Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS)

Breakout Session 2: Sustainable Batteries Use Cases – with Halfdan Abrahamsen, Ærø EnergyLab / E-Ferry Ellen

15:25 Wrap-up and end of event