Summit and strategy called for to save the battery industry

16.10.2025

Source: E & M pwoernews

The high-tech agenda is not enough for them: five industry associations are calling on the German government to come up with a strategy to save battery technology in Germany and Europe.

There is great concern that Germany and Europe are losing touch in the key business areas of industrial battery technology. In an open letter to Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), leading business associations are now calling for a strategy jointly supported by the German government and industry.

The aim should be to establish a battery industry and a battery ecosystem on the continent within ten to 15 years. Otherwise, the high-tech location in Germany and Europe with its jobs could not be saved in the face of competition from overseas. The associations underpin their demand with the expectation that the German government will convene a joint battery summit as a discussion platform.

The signatories of the letter are the Competence Network Lithium-Ion Batteries (KliB) as well as the associations of the chemical industry (VCI), the automotive industry (VDA), the mechanical and plant engineering industry (VDMA) and the electrical and digital industry (ZVEI).

It's about money, security of supply and independence

They welcome the coalition's initiative for battery research, known as the "high-tech agenda". However, this is not enough for the industrialization of battery technology and the development of a competitive battery ecosystem.

On the one hand, the associations are concerned with business; after all, the production of lithium-ion batteries alone will trigger investments of around 155 billion euros worldwide by 2030, almost a third of which will be in Europe. The associations also cite geopolitical aspects. Because Germany and Europe source batteries, associated materials and components as well as production technology almost exclusively from Asia, a separate industry would make the Old World "strategically more independent and more resilient".

The associations have clear ideas on how to stop the trend towards more and more insolvencies, the abandonment of business activities in the battery sector and the funding projects that have already begun. They have summarized their ideas in an eight-point plan for better location conditions. The points include

• the reduction of electricity prices,
• the reduction of bureaucracy,
• tax improvements,
• efficient support measures for investments and the ramp-up of production and
• industrial measures such as start-up support, partnerships, joint ventures and public-private partnerships.

The long-term dependence on imports of raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, copper and graphite requires cooperation with producing countries for a resilient and cost-efficient supply. In order to keep the imported raw materials in circulation, a recycling and refinery industry needs to be established.

The associations leave no doubt that this is not just about electromobility or the energy transition. The electrification of the economy as a whole is dependent on its own battery industry. This is because battery technology is the key technology for a wide range of products, including not only electric vehicles and energy storage systems but also power tools, drones, ships, robots and other military products.

The associations have published the position paper "The need for a competitive battery ecosystem in Germany and Europe" online.

Author: Volker Stephan