D The first battery cell production for electric cars on German soil is being built in Erfurt, Thuringia. But her owner is not a German automaker. The operator comes from far away China. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) is the name of the company, which is currently emerging as the world leader in the production of lithium-ion batteries. The largest suppliers in the battery market already come from Asia: Panasonic from Japan, BYD and Lishen from China, LG Chem and Samsung from South Korea. You are looking for a German provider in the list in vain.
The high-voltage battery is the most important component of an electric car. And the German manufacturers just want to bring more models to the market. BMW plans by 2025 with a total of 25 fully or partially electric vehicle series, including at Daimler and Volkswagen has an electrical strategy. The diesel scandal and the much-lamented threatening end of the internal combustion engine have increased the pressure on German industry. For too long, one relied on the market leadership in internal combustion engines, too hesitant went to the electric turn on. Now threaten billions of penalties. The European Union has lowered its carbon footprint. The model fleets of the manufacturers may in the future emit even less exhaust gases than before. Without an at least partially electrified fleet, compliance with these limits is not possible.
For electric car batteries lithium and cobalt are necessary
Volkswagen has been building an electric Golf since 2014. Daimler has been offering the E-Smart since 2007. And BMW is with its model i3 as the leader among the German manufacturers. The auto companies are building the batteries for their models themselves, but in the procurement of individual battery cells they are dependent on the suppliers from Asia.
This is not because not even the Daimler or VW engineers could build a lithium-ion battery. Technically, this is not rocket science. But the Asian suppliers have a year-long advantage. Your machines are fine-tuned so that as little scrap as possible is produced in production. And China has a big advantage in securing raw material reserves for battery cell production.
For an electric car battery lithium and cobalt are necessary. The largest deposits of cobalt, one of the so-called rare earth, there are in Congo. Up to 60 percent of the amount of cobalt traded worldwide is mined here. Early on, China concluded supply contracts with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to secure supplies for its battery cell manufacturers.
The Chinese government has recognized its opportunity early
China is already responsible for about 80 percent of the global chemical cobalt refining. At the instigation of the People’s Republic of China, Congo will soon be home to nine of the ten largest cobalt mines. For the auto industry in Germany and the United States this is a serious competitive disadvantage.
The Chinese government in Beijing has recognized early on its opportunity to use the detour via electric mobility for dominance in the car market. It not only invests in the extraction of raw materials in Africa on a large scale, but also supports domestic battery manufacturers. Anyone who wants to build and sell electric cars in China must use battery cells supplied by one of the Chinese producers. No matter if the automaker now Volkswagen or Geely is called.