Electric mobility "Companies from China are already offering complete battery factories on a turnkey basis"

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More than 200 battery factories are expected to emerge worldwide in the next ten years – a large portion in Europe. This requires cost-intensive production technology, which currently comes mainly from Asia, especially China. For German companies, this presents a significant growth opportunity, as a study by the German VDMA together with Porsche Consulting shows.

For future mobility – especially on the road – electric drives play a crucial role worldwide. The green electricity for this will mostly be stored in batteries. According to forecasts, the market for such power storage, mostly based on lithium-ion technology, will grow globally from around 20 billion euros today to about 550 billion euros annually by the year 2030.

Production technology from Asia

About 200 battery factories are currently under construction or being planned worldwide. They are currently being equipped primarily with production technology from Asia. Chinese machine manufacturers are currently setting the standard as complete providers. Only eight percent of the equipment for such factories comes from Europe. This share is too small to have a significant influence on technical development and to allow a second cluster for battery technology to emerge in Europe. A permanent market share of about 20 percent would be necessary for this. This is demonstrated by the analysis of Porsche Consulting and the VDMA in the study "Battery Manufacturing 2030: Collaborating at Warp Speed".

Minimize and avoid dependencies

The study shows solution approaches on how to prevent technological dependency in this future-critical field. After analyses of technology and providers, forecasts from their own market models, and various interviews with market participants, it is clear that cooperation among stakeholders plays a crucial role. "Only if European mechanical engineers manage to jointly offer integrated factory solutions will they be able to assert themselves against the competition from Asia," explains Gregor Grandl, Senior Partner at Porsche Consulting and co-author of the study. "Technologically, the European industry is on par, but companies from China are already offering complete battery factories on a turnkey basis." This reduces interfaces and thus the temporal and financial risk in construction.

Seize opportunities

The opportunities for machinery manufacturers are enormous: Just to maintain an eight percent market share in the battery market during the rapid ramp-up, annual growth rates of 33 percent would be necessary. To reach a 20 percent market share, companies would need to grow faster than the market. About a 50 percent increase in sales per year would not only be necessary but also possible. The market volume by 2030 amounts to 300 billion euros for machinery and plant manufacturers in the battery sector alone. Success in this competition would permanently secure Europe's access to the crucial future technology of batteries while creating many jobs.

Specialized companies like Manz from Reutlingen are consistently following this path: "As a European machinery manufacturer, we have specifically invested in battery production to be prepared for the rapid market ramp-up outlined in the study," emphasizes Martin Drasch, CEO of Manz. "Through the joint venture with the conglomerates Dürr and Grob, we strengthen our position in the market and can efficiently respond to the growing demand for innovative battery production solutions for gigaprojects." "The high demands of customers on turn-key suppliers require a rethinking in the ramp-up phases for this industry," says Stephan Eirich, managing partner of Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich GmbH as well. "This poses a new challenge even for experienced machinery and plant manufacturers, which we are facing."  (se)