LONDON: According to a poll released on Tuesday, British and other European manufacturers want to transfer more of the supply chain for batteries used in electric cars and renewable energy away from China and closer to their factories. China leads the processing of minerals used in electric batteries, as well as the production of cells and related components, with Japan and South Korea trailing far behind.
However, businesses polled by industrial prototype company Protolabs https://www.protolabs.co.uk stated they were more concerned about supply chain disruption in the previous year and wished to use suppliers closer to home.
Nissan stated on July 1 that it would invest 1 billion pounds (US$1.4 billion) in a battery plant near its main European unit in Sunderland, northeast England, with a Chinese partner Envision AESC.
Approximately 80% of businesses indicated they intended to bring their battery supply chain closer to production, with 84 percent of British businesses saying they wanted to make adjustments within the next 12 months.
“We are still largely reliant on battery cell imports with only 6% of battery production taking place in Europe,” said Bjoern Klaas, general director of Protolabs Europe. “With demand for electric vehicles expanding rapidly, there is an understanding this has to change.”
The government of the United Kingdom has announced that new diesel and gasoline cars will be prohibited from being sold after 2030. In the electric cars that will eventually replace them, the battery is frequently the most expensive component. (David Milliken contributed reporting; Emelia Sithole-Matarise edited the piece.)/n
