This looks like part of a larger overall EU 'strategic action plan' for developing a (sort of) closed-loop battery manufacturing and recycling industry across t

This looks like part of a larger overall EU 'strategic action plan' for developing a (sort of) closed-loop battery manufacturing and recycling industry across the EU's single-market system. Closed-loop implies that battery materials will be recycled, although there's no indication of how efficient such recycling will be in practice. Regardless, expanding battery production in the EU will require what looks like large imports of mined elements from other parts of the world. Here's what looks like the overall plan: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/strategy/industrial-alliances/european-battery-alliance_fr https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/strategy... Some of the links there ('strategic action plan') discuss the importance of securing raw materials: > "The EU must therefore secure access to the supply chains for batteries raw materials. Lithium-ion is currently the main chemistry of choice for electro-mobility and will dominate the market in the coming years. Various raw materials are required in lithium-ion batteries including lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, silicon, copper and aluminium. The supply of some of these materials, in particular cobalt, natural graphite and lithium, is of concern today and for the future in view of the large quantities needed and/or very concentrated supply sources." > "The Commission will build on the EU list of Critical Raw Materials, established in 2017, to map the current and future primary raw materials availability for batteries... [and] use all appropriate trade policy instruments (such as Free Trade Agreements) to ensure fair and sustainable access to raw materials in third countries and promote socially responsible mining." Without secure supplies of raw materials, building a Europe-centric battery manufacturing to expand the overall volume of battery storage won't be possible, although there are some limited European sources of needed materials. Notably the 'third [world] countries' that contain most of the 'concentrated supply sources' could grow their own economies by domestically manufacturing and exporting the batteries themselves... It's a bit reminiscent of the British approach to the American colonies in the 1700's, i.e. "you send us the cotton and we'll do the textile manufacturing here, and don't even think about setting up your own factories." In particular this use of the term 'sustainable suppy' is a bit odd, 'secure' or 'guaranteed' or 'not subject to competitive disruption from Chinese buyers' might be more accurate.