The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules an Important Project of Common European interest (“IPCEI”) jointly notified by Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden to support research and innovation in the common European priority area of batteries.
[ Ссылка ] The seven Member States will provide in the coming years up to approximately €3.2 billion in funding for this project, which is expected to unlock an additional €5 billion in private investments. The completion of the overall project is planned for 2031 (with differing timelines for each sub-project).
#eudebates #BatteryAlliance #Green #batteries #electriccars #lithium #EUBatteryAlliance
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President “Europe fit for the Digital Age” and Commissioner in charge of competition policy, said: "Battery production in Europe is of strategic interest for our economy and society because of its potential in terms of clean mobility and energy, job creation, sustainability and competitiveness. Our Important Projects of Common European Interest smooth the way for public authorities and industries from several Member States to come together and design ambitious innovation projects with positive spill-over effects across industrial sectors and regions. The approved aid will ensure that this important project can go ahead without unduly distorting competition.”
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Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, said: “Our focus on scaling up innovation under the European Battery Alliance is yielding strong industrial partnerships. Thanks to intensive efforts by seven Member States, industry and the Commission, Europe's first major pan-European battery ecosystem is emerging, with lead projects in all segments of this strategic value chain. We have found the right recipe for our 21st century industrial policy: strong cooperation between industrial actors, concerted action to accelerate lab-to-market innovation, joined-up financial instruments from both, private and public sectors, and a fit-for-future regulatory framework to underpin a stronger European knowledge-based economy.”
The project will involve 17 direct participants, mostly industrial actors, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), some of which with activities in more than one Member State. The direct participants will closely cooperate with each other and with over 70 external partners, such as SMEs and public research organisations across Europe.
Following intensive technical discussions between the Commission and the relevant actors over a period of 3 months, the project was formally notified to the Commission for approval under EU State aid rules in October 2019. After notification, the Commission finalised its assessment and took its decision swiftly to ensure the fast and smooth implementation of the project.
The project
The transition to climate neutrality, including through clean and low emission mobility, will bring significant opportunities for economic growth, job creation and technological development. Demand for batteries is expected to grow very rapidly in the coming years. Forward-looking research, development and innovation policies will have a key role to enable Europe and its Member States to make the most of this transition. The Commission launched at the end of 2017 a “European Battery Alliance” with interested Member States and industrial actors and adopted a Strategic Action Plan for Batteries in May 2018.
Funding, beneficiaries and amounts
The project will involve 17 direct participants from the seven Member States, some of which will have activities in more than one Member State. The overall project should be completed by 2031 (with differing timelines for each sub-project).
The direct participants could receive up to approximately €3.2 billion in funding. More specifically, Belgium has sought approval to grant up to approximately €80 million; Finland up to approximately €30 million; France up to approximately €960 million; Germany up to approximately €1.25 billion; Italy up to approximately €570 million; Poland up to approximately €240 million and Sweden up to approximately €50 million. Nonetheless, significant share of additional profits made by the participants will be shared with taxpayers through a claw-back mechanism. In other words, if the projects turn out to be successful, generating extra net revenues beyond projections, the companies will return part of the taxpayer money received to the respective Member States.
The Commission has verified that the total planned maximum aid amounts are in line with the eligible costs of the forecasted projects and their funding gaps.
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