Digitalisation as a driver for innovations along the battery value chain

Yesterday, EBA250 organised a well-attended webinar on Digitalisation as a Driver for Innovations along the Battery Value Chain. Speakers included representatives from the European Commission, the Global Battery Alliance (GBA), Batteries Europe as well as industrial stakeholders developing new solutions in this area.

The interventions most certainly confirmed the statement made by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission in her State of the Union address on 15 September 2021- digitalisation is the make-it-or-break-it issue for Europe – and the battery value chain is no exception.

The proposed battery regulation contains many requirements that will spur opportunities for new innovative products and services, such as design requirements, production related requirements for measuring carbon footprint and recycled content as well as increased information requirements for batteries along its lifecycle, most importantly the Battery Passport.

The development of a Battery Passport provides “a huge potential for digitalisation to facilitate access to product information”, said DG GROW Policy Officer Ewout Deurwaarder. The Global Battery Alliance Passport can be seen as a voluntary extension of the European Battery Passport focusing on environmental, social and Governance compliance issues.

A swift adoption of the EU Regulation and continued work by the Global Battery Alliance and its members will be crucial for the development of ESG standards and follow up on their compliance. This will also give ground for further business opportunities and models and services. The battery passport is one application, but the panelists Circulor, Verkor and TWAICE already showcased that there is business potential along various parts of the value chain.

Batteries Europe taskforce on digitalisation underlined the continuous need for R&I along the entire value chain to foster new innovations.

In summary, digitalisation will without a doubt play a crucial role for the development of batteries as part of the green transition in an electrified society. Digital solutions will be key to increase transparency and traceability of battery materials, to support productive maintenance of batteries in various applications and to optimise energy storage systems and e-mobility solutions.