401030 battery.European lithium battery market analysis: material technology and production capacity are obviously lagging behind

　　In recent years, the European electric vehicle industry has developed rapidly, and well-known manufacturers such as Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Renault are increasing investment and production of electric vehicles. However, in battery-related industries, Europe is facing a massive attack by East Asian companies, and the European market is almost occupied by East Asian industry giants. In order to change this situation, European countries are taking various measures to support their own lithium battery industry. From now on, this edition will launch a series of reports to sort out and analyze the European power battery market situation.

　　In recent years, with the improvement of environmental awareness and the active promotion of various governments, the European electric vehicle industry has developed rapidly, which has also brought good development opportunities to the upstream of the electric vehicle industry - the battery and lightweight materials industry. However, European companies have significantly lagged behind in terms of investment and development in the battery industry. This disconnect has resulted in bitter consequences and has also given companies outside Europe the opportunity to expand into the European battery market.

　　The electric vehicle market is developing rapidly

　　The European electric vehicle market is developing rapidly at a rate that exceeds industry forecasts. According to data from the 28 EU countries, Norway and Switzerland released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, in the first three quarters of 2018, the sales of electric vehicles (including plug-in electric vehicles and pure electric vehicles) in the above 30 countries reached 273,000 units, a year-on-year increase 35.4%, accounting for 2.1% of newly registered cars. At the same time, the overall number of electric vehicles has exceeded 1 million and will maintain high growth in the following years. Sales of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles reached 460,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 34.3%.

　　From another perspective, although the current proportion of electric vehicles in Europe is less than 2%, if the strict elimination measures of fuel vehicles in various countries can be fully implemented, the European electric vehicle market share may rise to 40% by 2030. .

　　Generally speaking, European countries have a positive attitude towards the development of electric vehicles. The most notable is Norway, where subsidies are generous: electric vehicles are exempt from purchase tax, exempt from 25% value-added tax, and even exempt from tolls. Encouraged by policies, one-fifth of the new cars registered in Norway each year are purely battery-powered vehicles, ranking first in Europe. This small European country has also become the third country in the world in terms of the number of new energy vehicles.

　　Other major European countries also have ambitious plans for the development of electric vehicles. Automobile industry powers such as Britain, France, Germany, and Italy all have electric vehicle sales growth of 50% to 60%. The UK plans to have at least 50% of its cars and 40% of its vans achieve ultra-low emissions by 2030, and ban the sale of new cars powered by traditional internal combustion engines before 2040; France plans to increase electric vehicle sales in 2020 to five times the current level; Germany and Italy both plan to put 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2022. At the same time, almost all countries in Europe are vigorously promoting the construction of charging facilities.

　　Of course, the plans of European countries may not be fully realized, but European industry insiders hold this view: the European electric vehicle-related market is a deterministic high-growth market, and the battery industry closely related to the electric vehicle market will also become A high-growth industry.

　　The advancement of the battery industry is relatively lagging behind

　　For such a market where profits are guaranteed, relevant companies will certainly flock to it. However, despite the European policies in place, the rapid development of the market, and the active cooperation of car companies, the European battery-related industries have not achieved such rapid development as the electric vehicle industry. In 2018, the British Financial Times gave this set of data: About 80% of the world's existing and planned battery production capacity is in Asia, with China alone accounting for 69%, the United States accounting for 15%, and the European Union accounting for less than 4%. . In 2018, when the battery industry was developing rapidly, the European battery industry was obviously lagging behind.

　　This is not to say that Europe is not a hot spot for investment in the battery industry. In fact, there was considerable investment in the European battery and battery materials sectors in 2018. However, the growth of European battery industry capacity almost entirely relies on Asian companies. In terms of battery materials, Japanese, Korean and American companies almost monopolize most of the battery material technology and production capacity in Europe.

　　Chemical companies underinvest in Europe

　　In terms of chemical supporting materials that are crucial to the development of the battery industry, traditional European established chemical companies have not done much in Europe. It is difficult for Europe to become a production center for battery materials in the near future.

　　However, the development focus of these three major cathode material manufacturers is not in Europe, but in Asia, where power battery production capacity is growing rapidly. For the Belgian company Umicore, the center of its production base is located in Japan, and in its US$1 billion investment plan to expand production six times, South Korea and the Chinese market are also the focus of its development. BASF is also working with Toda Industries to increase its production capacity in Japan. Johnson Matthey is targeting the research and development of high-nickel materials, and the products are expected to be launched in 2022.

　　In terms of lithium battery separators, European companies also have a small share, and production capacity is mainly concentrated in China, South Korea, Japan and the United States. Among European companies, Evonik, Covestro, DSM and Solvay are all involved in this industry, but they cannot be compared with the companies in the above-mentioned countries.

　　Original title: European lithium battery market analysis: material technology and production capacity are obviously lagging behind

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