The EU could become as dependent on China for lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells by 2030 as it previously was on Russia for energy before the war in Ukraine unless it takes strong measures, a paper prepared for EU leaders said.
The document, obtained by Reuters, would be the basis of discussions on Europe’s economic security during a meeting of EU leaders in Granada, Spain, on Oct. 5.
Worried by China’s growing global assertiveness and economic weight, the leaders are to discuss the European Commission’s proposals to reduce the risk of Europe being too dependent on China, and the need to diversify toward Africa and Latin America.
Photo: Reuters
The paper said that because of the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources like solar or wind, Europe would need ways to store energy to reach its goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
“This will skyrocket our demand for lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and electrolyzers, which is expected to multiply between 10 and 30 times in the coming years,” said the paper, prepared by the Spanish presidency of the EU.
While the EU has a strong position in the intermediate and assembly phases of making electrolyzers, with a more than 50 percent global market share, it relies heavily on China for fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries, which are crucial for electric vehicles.
“Without implementing strong measures, the European energy ecosystem could develop a dependency on China by 2030 of a different nature, but with a similar severity, from the one it had on Russia before the invasion of Ukraine,” it said.
According to the European Commission, in 2021, the year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU took more than 40 percent of its total gas consumption, 27 percent of oil imports and 46 percent of coal imports from Russia.
Ending most energy purchases from Russia caused an energy price shock in the EU and a surge in consumer inflation, forcing the European Central Bank to sharply raise interest rates in a move that has curbed economic growth.
Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells were not the only areas of EU vulnerability, the Spanish presidency paper said.
“A similar scenario could unfold in the digital-tech space,” the document said. “Forecasts suggest that the demand for digital devices such as sensors, drones, data servers, storage equipment and data transmission networks will rise sharply in this decade.”
“The EU has a relatively strong position in the latter, but it shows significant weaknesses in the other areas,” it said.
By 2030, this foreign dependency could seriously hinder the productivity gains that the European industry and service sector urgently require, and could impede the modernization of agriculture systems essential to addressing climate change, it said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
RSS