As electric vehicle continue their rollout, Euractiv spoke with several French industry players looking at battery recycling to capture and re-use critical raw materials.
A market failure is preventing EV owners from using their cars’ batteries to power their homes and back up local grids. Following up on its Grid Action Plan, the Commission needs to propose the necessary regulatory measures to give drivers a right to bidirectional charging, writes William Todts.
China, the world's top graphite producer, on Friday (20 October) announced new curbs on exports of certain types of graphite, key to making batteries for electric vehicles, in its latest move to control supplies of critical minerals in response to challenges over its manufacturing dominance.
The European recycling industry, backed by environmental groups, has called on Brussels to ban the export of metals recovered from used electric car batteries in a bid to promote recycling in Europe and reduce the bloc’s dependence on imported raw materials.
Nissan Motor Co said on Monday (25 September) all its new European models will be fully electric and it plans to sell only electric vehicles (EVs) on the continent by 2030, joining a growing number of carmakers shifting to electric by the end of the decade.
The Czech government is making every effort to facilitate lithium mining in the country as it is a strategic raw material for the recovery of the Czech economy, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) said on Wednesday while visiting potential mining areas.
France's nickel production is significantly lagging behind its Indonesian and Chinese counterparts, and must be both refinanced and restructured to meet EU critical raw materials independence goals, a new government report reveals.
France will launch its first battery factory for electric cars on Tuesday (30 May), taking a big step in its race to build up a sector dominated by China.
Most European car makers have already declared that they will go full electric by 2035, some of them sooner. The EU’s task is to ready for this transformation, writes Frans Timmermans.
German automakers and Asian battery suppliers are getting together in Hungary in a multi-billion-dollar marriage of convenience to drive their electric ambitions.
While EU co-legislators are still busy discussing the details of the EU Battery Regulation, lobbyists following this file are already bracing themselves for a tsunami of secondary legislation that will decide on every technical aspect of battery manufacturing and recycling.
Verkor, a French e-battery start-up, inaugurated its innovation centre in Grenoble on Wednesday (9 November), with backing from government officials, key industry players and a €49 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
French automaker Renault will pitch investors Tuesday (8 November) on its planned green revamp, with two spin-offs: a new electric-vehicle unit and a subsidiary for thermal and hybrid assets.
The EU's upcoming battery regulation aims to position the bloc as a major player in the global battery value chain. Despite positives, there are still some areas to resolve before the legislation becomes law, write Abhishek Gupta, Maya Ben Dror, and Tilmann Vahle.
To decarbonise Europe's car fleet, internal combustion engines running on synthetic fuels are not a viable alternative to electric cars, writes Julia Poliscanova of clean mobility NGO Transport & Environment.
German parliament has empowered the federal network agency to define the framework for implementing electric vehicles (EVs) into the grid, using them as remote batteries to balance electricity demand.
Electric vehicle battery material lithium should not be classified as a hazardous substance by the European Union because the scientific evidence on which the proposal is based is weak, seven industry groups said.
The French car industry has unanimously condemned the European Parliament’s vote to ban the production of combustion engine cars from 2035, arguing it amounts to “industrial destruction” and a “step into the unknown”.
Europe's market for hydrogen-powered taxis is becoming increasingly competitive, with French company Hype, which has developed them in Paris since 2015, being among the frontrunners. EURACTIV France reports.
Europe can play a special role in setting standards that have a global impact and prevent batteries from being discarded prematurely, writes Claudius Jehle.
Robust regulation is needed at EU-level to ensure that workers and the environment are protected during the extraction of battery metals, write Mark Dummett and Julia Poliscanova.
EU environment ministers adopted on Thursday (17 March) a general approach for the EU batteries regulation, centred on France's compromise proposal, which had drawn all-around praise for being "balanced" and "ambitious". The Council and the Parliament will now negotiate to agree on the final draft.
France, currently at the helm of the EU Council presidency, hopes to make as much progress as possible on the battery regulation in the coming months. EURACTIV France reports.
France should start exploiting its own lithium resources to meet increased demand stemming from a shift away from fossil fuels, Barbara Pompili, the country's environment minister, said in a video interview published on Thursday (17 February) by business daily Les Echos.
