Today, major Spanish industrial companies announce Battchain, a consortium formed to respond to increasing demand for batteries. Battchain aims to accelerate Europe’s green economic recovery by expanding Spain’s battery value chain across raw materials extracting through to battery recycling.
The consortium will seek investment of €1.2 billion to deploy its industrial projects mainly across Spain’s automotive sector. More than 1,700 direct and 12,000 indirect jobs will be created as a result of these projects, with turnover expected to reach €2.4 billion in 2030. Critically, through successful project delivery, Battchain will eliminate 1.5 million tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Led by the world’s largest sustainable energy accelerator, EIT InnoEnergy, Battchain brings together leading energy and industrial players Extremadura Mining, Ente Vasco de la Energia, CIC EnergiGUNE, Fagor Ederlan, Ingeteam, SODENA, Scoobic and BeePlanet Factory. Projects in the consortium include the lithium extraction and refining of 15,000 annual tonnes of lithium hydroxide, a 10GWh solid state cell factory, a 120,000 pack annual capacity battery pack assembly plant, an assembly factory for up to 20,000 last mile electric vehicles and a battery collection, recycling and second life plant.
“As the second largest car producer in Europe, it is critical that we instigate and accelerate a profound transformation of Spain’s automotive industry. This cannot be done in isolation. If Spain wants to retain its automotive standing across Europe, collaborative action is needed now,” says Mikel Lasa, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy Spain.
Lasa added: “Through our work leading the European Battery Alliance, we saw the potential of creating a Spanish value chain to accelerate change. We have proven success in driving forward these types of projects to commercialisation by connecting partners with the right funds and market support. The players we’ve brought together already have economically viable projects in development – making this an initiative that will catapult real change in Spain’s automotive industry.”
Spain’s battery demand will reach 75GWh by 2030, with 90 per cent of that coming from the automotive sector. By 2030, at least half of the vehicles produced in Spain will be electric, with 28GWh of batteries required annually for these vehicles.
Battchain is a project that will provide a backbone for the national territory with industrial plants in Andalusia, the Basque Country, Extremadura, and Navarre, which will also benefit other regions that already have automobile manufacturing plants.
The consortium has submitted an expression of interest to the Program for the Promotion of Industrial Competitiveness and Sustainability projects published last December by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism.
About EIT InnoEnergy
EIT InnoEnergy is the leading engine for innovation and entrepreneurship in sustainable energy across Europe and beyond. EIT InnoEnergy has provided investments and added value services to some 380 sustainable energy related start-ups, of those 30+ are in storage, including flagship players like Northvolt, a vertically integrated sustainable battery manufacturer, and Skeleton Technologies, a global leader in ultracapacitors who is playing a key role within leading OEMs. Following the mandate of the EU Commission, EIT InnoEnergy is leading the industrial stream of the European Battery Alliance in 2017, a European Commission initiative to build a strong and competitive European battery industry. EIT InnoEnergy was established in 2010, hasinvested €560 million in sustainable energy innovations and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).