EU approves $3.5B fund for battery research

BRUSSELS

The EU has approved a €3.2 billion ($3.5 billion) fund for a pan-European research and innovation project on the battery value change, the European Commission said on Monday.

“The seven Member States [Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden] will provide in the coming years up to approximately €3.2 billion in funding for this project, which is expected to unlock an additional €5 billion ($5.5) in private investments,” the commission said in a press release.

“The plan is meant to create clean and low-emission mobility by the development of highly innovative and sustainable technologies for lithium-ion batteries,” it added.

The project will involve 17 direct participants, mostly industrial actors, including small and medium-sized businesses, the commission said.

The project participants and their partners will focus their work on four areas -- including raw and advances materials; cells and modules; battery systems, repurposing and recycling; and refining.

It aims at improving environmental sustainability and serving the growing market demand for batteries by creating lithium-ion batteries that last longer, have shorter charging times, are safer and abler to be recycled, according to the commission.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, will present the roadmap for the European Green Deal on Wednesday.