Joint Statement on the impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act on the European battery ecosystem

On December 8, the European Battery Alliance (EBA) held in Brussels a High-Level Industrial Meeting to discuss with European Commission Vice-President Šefčovič how to best address the impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act on the European battery ecosystem. Organised and hosted by EBA250-EIT InnoEnergy, the meeting gathered top executives of the industrial European champions along the entire battery value chain.

Since its launch in 2017, the EBA has grown into a vibrant network of close to 800 stakeholders and has turned Europe into a global hotspot for investments. However, recent developments such as the launch of the US Inflation Reduction Act is challenging the positive outlook for a continued growth of the European battery ecosystem. The work initiated with the EBA will only succeed if we acknowledge the change of paradigm in global trade and act jointly to complete Europe’s existing toolbox and increase the speed of execution.

The High-Level Industrial Meeting intended to discuss concrete actions for Europe to remain highly attractive for battery-related investments. We concluded that the upcoming weeks will be decisive to act for preventing the outflow of investment from Europe. Measures are urgently needed at EU, Member States and local levels to accelerate and de-risk investments, speed up industrial projects and ensure our European global competitiveness. The proposal for an emergency package of EU measures to unlock and keep over 100bn EUR of investments in Europe has been addressed to the European Commission yesterday and is presented in this Joint Statement. It includes emergency financial incentives to accelerate investments in the EU, emergency measures to shorten and ease industrial permitting for raw materials, materials and industrial projects, and other actions to boost the global leadership and long-term competitiveness of the European battery value chain.