Another interesting article I found by the CEO of EIT...

Another interesting article I found by the CEO of EIT INNOENERGY

MIKEL LASA, CEO OF EIT INNOENERGY"Spain has everything to create a competitive industry around batteries"Spain and Portugal play a key role in the European Union battery value chain.DRAFTING03 JANUARY 2021 - 09:30 H. Filed Under : EIT InnoEnergy BatteriesSpain and Portugal play a key role in the EU battery value chain.The first Iberian Summit on batteries of EIT InnoEnergy - European engine of innovation and entrepreneurship in sustainable energy - has served to discover the fundamental role that Spain and Portugal can play in the development of a value chain related to electric batteries in Europe.Precisely, this summit has shown that Spain and Portugal have the potential to become a key area for Europe to advance in the energy transition, abandoning fossil fuels and giving way to renewable energies.The objective is to turn the Old Continent into a self-sufficient area that can generate efficient batteries and with stationary applications for the energy and mobility sector. All this within the framework of the European Battery Alliance (EBA250), promoted by the European Commission in 2017 to face this enormous industrial challenge and which is precisely managed by EIT InnoEnergy.“We have all the ingredients that the industry requires for the transition to clean energy and for the creation of a competitive industry around batteries. We have raw materials, local market demand, powerful and innovative business initiatives and the knowledge and ability to become a fundamental piece in the European strategy ”, said during the closing of the meeting Mikel Lasa , CEO of EIT InnoEnergy.The Iberian Peninsula is the second largest automobile manufacturing region in Europe, as well as a leading area in terms of renewable energy generation and industrial supply.Therefore, it has a unique opportunity to capture part of the market for electric batteries whose value is estimated at 250,000 million euros a year from 2025.In order to achieve this, participation and collaboration between the different parties involved in the entire battery value chain will be key.The event made it clear that Europe's commitment to the battery sector is not only a political statement, but that all the available means and the necessary resources are actually being used.The enormous demand for batteries that can be generated from the automotive sector was highlighted. Even from the Ministry of Industry it was found that the battery and electromobility sector will be one of the industrial strategic bets for Spain in the coming years and that, to achieve this, the Government will mobilize a significant amount of funds and resources.For its part, the European Battery Alliance also wanted to remind that it is ready to support projects that make business sense and that contribute to the European objective of building a new industrial value chain around batteries.Raw MaterialsWithout a doubt, one of the topics that aroused the most expectation was related to raw materials. In it, the representatives of the lithium extraction and production projects that are underway in the Iberian Peninsula advanced their plans and commented on the current status of their various initiatives.The spokespersons for Litihium Iberia, Infinity Lithium and Savannah Resources defended the environmental viability of their proposals as they would reduce the carbon footprint that currently depends on the transport of raw material from other continents to Europe.They also recalled that electric mobility requires a "green revolution" that makes this type of mining projects possible. The experts also recalled that mining activities in the 21st century in Europe are modern 4.0 industries that involve and require a lot of cutting-edge technology and that need to comply with strict environmental, health and safety regulations.In addition, having its own resources in the Peninsula is an advantage that cannot be replicated in other areas and that, without a doubt, can attract other valuable industrial projects related to the battery chain.Minister Matos Fernandes himself declared that the Government of Portugal is already supporting this type of project and is working to attract new ones to the region.Research and technological innovationFinally, it was made clear that the sector requires research and technological innovation to remain competitive and that, in turn, researchers need the industry to make their work relevant and meaningful. Iberia has the knowledge and technological capabilities necessary to produce safer, lighter and more environmentally sustainable batteries, at a lower cost, with greater capacity and a longer useful life. This knowledge is essential to accelerate the penetration of electric vehicles and renewable energies and to make the industry more competitive.Participation of more than 20 institutions and business initiativesThe event has been organized in four online sessions that have taken place from December 25 to 15 and where the points of view of a score of different institutions and business initiatives have been presented (European Commission, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of Spain, Ministry for the Environment and Energy Transition of Portugal, Iberdrola, EIT Raw Materials, EDP, Scoobic, HessTec, AEDIVE, BeePlanet, Phi4Tech, Basquevolt, NABATT, Power Electronics, Savannah Resources, Infinity Lithium, Lithium Iberia, EIT Raw Materials, IREC, Tecnalia, Colab Vasco de Gama, INL and CIC Energigune).In addition, it has had the participation of great personalities such as Maroš Šefčovič (Vice-president of the European Commission), João Pedro Matos Fernandes (Minister of Environment and Energy Transition of Portugal), Raül Blanco (Secretary General of Industry and SMEs in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism) and Professor Michel Armand, a scientist at CIC energiGUNE considered one of the fathers of lithium batteries.


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