On Wednesday, 4 December, French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire announced that the European Commission could give the green light to the allocation of subsidies to projects carried out within the framework of the European Battery Alliance next week. He was giving a speech on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Liaison Committee for the Manufacture of Automobile Equipment and Spare Parts (CLEPA) in Brussels.
On this occasion, Mr Le Maire reiterated the projects envisaged in order to establish a European battery industry for electric vehicles—a sector that was officially authorised by the Commission this past May (see EUROPE 12246/9).
In particular, he confirmed that a pilot plant would be opened in southwestern France in January 2020. Two plants are then expected to be built: the first in France in 2022 and the second in Germany in 2024.
“We are now only waiting for the Commission’s approval on the subsidy. The decision would be one of the first decision[s] of the new Commission and a major and a historical milestone for this new Commission”, declared Bruno Le Maire.
For their part, France and Germany have already planned to invest more than €1 billion in order to enable this industry to be deployed in Europe.
The minister of Economy and Finance was pleased with the scale of this project, which had been initiated by the Franco-German team: “Today we are seven countries and seventeen private companies ready to build a European battery industry”.
A strong European industry, “crucial for the future of the continent”
The French minister emphasised at length that it was important for Member States to join forces on an industrial level in order to preserve their economic independence and “not disappear from the international scene” in the years to come. In his opinion, a strong and ambitious European industry is “crucial for the future of the continent”.
“Batteries represent 30% of electric vehicles’ value added. We want the value to be created in Europe, in our own territory, by our own factories”, he stressed.
German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier—also present at the conference—sided with his French counterpart. In turn, he warned against the risk that European automotive industries’ dependence on Japanese, Chinese, and Korean battery manufacturers would represent. “The question is: ‘Who is going to offer the first functioning model of level 5 autonomous driving on a global scale? Who is going to lead the innovation?’”, he asked himself.
The ministers agreed that much remained to be done in terms of innovation if Europeans were going to be able to compete with China and the United States. They called on Europe to invest more in artificial intelligence, energy storage, and even hydrogen technologies.
As for the new commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit emphasised the social challenge that the transition facing the automotive industry represents. “Social dialogue is a key element in facilitating this transition”, he stated, specifying that one of his missions will be to ensure “that all our Member States invest enough in education and in the upskilling of those whose professions will change”.
Le Maire also reiterated France’s call for the implementation of a carbon border tax, which is currently missing from the Commission’s draft communication on the Green Deal (see EUROPE 12380/4) and which seems to only be a possibility to date.
“I have just broached the subject with Commissioner Phil Hogan, and we think that such a European border carbon tax can perfectly be compatible with WTO rules”, he assured. “We hope that the European Commission will make a formal proposal in 2020 and that this proposal will be adopted in 2022”. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki, intern)