Despite Europe accounting for nearly 25 percent of global EV sales, only around 6.8 percent of the energy required for cell production is supplied within Europe with most of the energy being imported in the form of materials and battery cells. Now, a team lead by researchers at the University of Münster and Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production, have analyzed the energy requirements associated with the EU goal of strengthening battery supply chains.
To reach the 2050 goal of self-sufficiency, the team predict that the EU will need to meet growing demand and increase annual energy production from 3.5 terawatt hours (TWh) to 250 TWh, an increase that would be possible with well-developed recycling infrastructure. Additionally, the team highlights that Europe will need 200 to 250 TWh to charge EVs and to compensate for efficiency losses.
“Strengthening local battery supply chains is crucial to reducing energy dependence,” said Prof Simon Lux. “However, it also requires the supply of significant amounts of energy in Europe.”
Crucial to meeting future EU energy demand will be increasing recycling rates and efficiency to reduce import dependency. The researchers assume that by 2050 EU recycling capacity will grow to achieve 800 gigawatt hours of battery capacity. With this increase in recycling rates and efficiency, the energy required for battery production can be reduced by up to 46 percent according to the team.
Despite the need, recycling infrastructure is still in its early stages of development in Europe leading the researchers to conclude that policymakers will need to implement effective regulations to enable viable and sustainable recycling capacities to reach self-sufficiency by 2050.