EU moves to cut dependency on China for battery and solar panel materials

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The EU has voted in a plan to secure more of the critical materials needed to make solar panels, electric car batteries and other key elements of its green transition.

The European parliament agreed on Thursday to diversify its supplies of critical raw materials and cut red tape for mining companies. In an attempt to reduce its dependency on China, it plans to ensure that by 2030 it does not rely on a single country for more than 65% of its supply of any strategic raw material.

 

The details of the act, which was passed with 515 votes in favour and 34 against, will now be negotiated between the parliament and the council.

“The path towards European sovereignty and competitiveness has been set,” said Nicola Beer, a German MEP with the liberal Renew Europe grouping, who was in charge of the proposal. “With an overwhelming majority across political groups in the vote, the European parliament has made its position on security of supply very clear.”

To run its economy on clean energy instead of fossil fuels, the EU needs critical raw materials such as lithium for electric car batteries and silicon for semiconductors in solar panels. It currently relies on a handful of countries including China to supply them.

"There will be no e-mobility without batteries, and there won’t be more batteries without more lithium,” said Hildegard Bentele, a German MEP from the centre-right European People’s party and the group’s lead negotiator for the proposal. “A credible and strategic raw materials policy must increase our supply from reliable sources.”

The new proposal sets targets for extracting, processing and recycling critical raw materials. It calls for the EU to build the capacity by 2030 to extract materials meeting at least 10% of its demand and process materials meeting 50% of its demand, with a clause allowing for up to 20% of new processing capacity to come from partnerships with emerging markets. It should also boost recycling capacity to collect, sort and process 45% of the strategic materials in its waste for recycling.

 

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[JBChiangRai]

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