A Battery Deal for Europe

By Dr. Oscar Miguel | Deputy Director at CIDETEC Energy Storage

Europe stands at a crossroads. It must do its homework to maintain its position as a social, technological and industrial benchmark on the international stage. To achieve this objective, Europe must commit to combining competitiveness with sustainability, with the energy transition as the central pillar. This inevitably leads to the debate on batteries as a key enabling technology.

This perspective was already taking shape in 2017 when, in response to the anticipated surge in battery demand, the European Battery Alliance (EBA) was launched with a package of measures designed to enable Europe to capture its rightful share of the value chain. Almost ten years later, the situation has evolved quite differently from what was expected, making it necessary to adjust course.

On 23 October 2025, the A Battery Deal for Europe was presented in Brussels, jointly proposed by the associations BEPA and RECHARGE. The document sets out a proposed course of action for Europe aimed at opening debate across four fronts: Innovate, Produce, Buy and Secure, with a range of technological, industrial and regulatory measures, among others, all viewed through the lens of safeguarding Europe’s strategic, industrial and technological autonomy on the global stage.

One of the successes of the measures originally promoted by the EBA was the creation in Europe of the public–private battery partnership Batt4EU, conceived by BEPA (Batteries European Partnership Association), representing the private sector’s vision, together with the European Commission. BEPA’s activity within the Batt4EU framework has helped establish technological priorities, align efforts and foster a strong pan-European industrial and technological ecosystem in batteries.

From an innovation perspective, at CIDETEC Energy Storage we consider it essential that this initiative continues within the next European research framework programme currently under negotiation, through an expanded Batt4EU 2.0, addressing all sectors that will require batteries, covering the entire value chain and all Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). This is precisely one of the core elements under the Innovate pillar of the Battery Deal for Europe, which must underpin Europe’s technological and industrial competitiveness for the benefit of its strategic autonomy, the energy transition and sustainability.