Despite the magnitude of demand for electric vehicles, Chinese battery manufacturers are worried. The world number one CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) is facing a serious problem that could disrupt the start-up of its first European unit, installed in Erfurt, Thuringia (Germany). “We are affected by the gas shortage because battery production requires a lot of energy,” worries Matthias Zentgraf, president of CATL-Europe with Bloomberg.
Half of the plant’s consumption, which is due to start operating by the end of the year, is in fact ensured by natural gas deliveries. CATL assures “work intensively” alternative solutions involving the use of renewable electricity and promises that the plant will be able to operate this winter. The halt in deliveries from Russia poses an unforeseen problem for the Chinese firm, which announced this summer an investment of 7.3 billion euros in partnership with Mercedes to produce batteries in Hungary and plans to launch a third factory.
“Overcapacities of almost 50%”
In the longer term, other uncertainties are emerging around battery manufacturing in Europe. While projects are multiplying, particularly in Germany, which could become the leading producing country on the continent, the hypothesis of an overflow is beginning to emerge. “The announcements of battery cell production capacities by 2030 raise questions, says Jamel Taganza, automotive specialist at Inovev. According to our Forecasts, the demand for battery cells should be around 350 GWh while the announced capacities will be, at least, around 665 GWh, ie overcapacities of nearly 50%. What will we do with it? Export them? Assign them to other applications? Reduce them? »
Several projects already seem threatened. In particular that of a Tesla battery factory, not far from the already existing Gigafactory in Berlin, which could be erased in favor of a unit located in the United States. A direct consequence of the announcement of the Biden plan which plans to reserve tax incentives only for electric vehicles equipped with batteries produced in North America.
Chinese manufacturers are also beginning to worry about the way in which their activity’s environmental impact is viewed. Zeng Yuqun, president of CATL, wants China to pay more attention to the carbon footprint of the entire manufacturing cycle of electric vehicles produced on its soil. The country, he estimated at a symposium organized at the end of August in Beijing, “apparently got left behind” in this domain.
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