China's dominance in the battery market: Europe's 2030 offensive started!

China's dominance in the battery market: Europe's 2030 offensive started!

In recent years, the electric car battery market has developed rapidly, with China continuing to play the dominant role. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), seven out of ten electric car batteries ever built come from the Middle Kingdom. In 2024, global demand for battery capacity exceeded one terawatt hour for the first time, with 85 percent used for electric cars. The price of battery packs fell below $100 per kWh, mainly due to falling raw material prices and technical advances. China currently holds over 75 percent of the market share and is expected to fall to 38 percent in the EU by 2030, while Europe captures about 27 percent of the market, reports krone.at.

Increasing demand for electricity in industry

At the same time, global electricity consumption is increasing, especially in emerging markets. The IEA predicts that electricity demand will increase by almost four percent annually until 2027, driven by increased industrialized production and growing demand for air conditioning and electric vehicles. An average annual increase of around six percent is expected in China. The production of solar panels and electric cars plays a crucial role. Even though the demand for renewable energy is growing, China is also relying on coal as an energy source. In 2024, China began building about 94.5 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants, the highest since 2015, according to analysis tagesschau.de.

A positive trend can be seen in the European Union, where the use of photovoltaics will have exceeded the use of coal in 2024. In addition, nuclear energy is making a comeback as countries such as France and Japan are increasingly relying on this energy source again. Despite growing interest in renewable energy, fossil fuel use will remain at high levels until 2027. The IEA expects electricity generation from coal and natural gas to increase in several emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia as demand there remains strong.