Chinesischer Autohersteller Xiaopeng auf der IAA in München: Gefährliche Abhängigkeit
Foto: Manfred Segerer / IMAGO
The Spanish EU presidency is cautioning the community of nations about the risk of becoming dependent on China for lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells. Experts warn that without appropriate countermeasures, the EU could become as reliant on China by 2030 as it was on Russia for energy supply before the conflict in Ukraine. This warning comes from a strategy paper prepared for the EU heads of state and government, which aims to serve as the basis for discussions on Europe’s economic security at the EU summit in early October in Granada, Spain.
The paper states that Europe will need energy storage due to the intermittent nature of wind and solar energy in order to achieve its goal of not producing greenhouse gases by 2050. This will increase the EU demand for lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and electrolyzers used in hydrogen technology by 10 to 30 times in the coming years.
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The authors of the paper state that without the implementation of effective measures, the European energy ecosystem could become dependent on China by 2030, which would be different but equally significant as the dependence on Russia before the invasion of Ukraine. The EU has a strong position in the production of electrolyzers and is heavily reliant on China for fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.
According to the document, it is stated that lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells are not the only areas in which the EU is vulnerable. A similar scenario could occur with digital technologies. Forecasts suggest that the demand for sensors, drones, servers, storage devices, and data transmission networks will significantly increase in this decade. The EU has a relatively strong position in networks, but significant weaknesses in other areas.