EV battery supply chain firms seek diversification as Biden order shines more light on China reliance
- Australian-listed BlackEarth and its German partner LuxCarbon GmbH have joined the European Battery Alliance
- The move came two weeks after US President Joe Biden ordered a review of American supply chains for critical products crucial to the tech and defence sectors
Amid a global review of supply chains, centred on reducing reliance on countries such as China, an Australian-listed critical commodities specialist and its German-based graphite partner have joined the 500-member European Battery Alliance to provide products for the electric vehicle market.
Last week, Australia also unveiled a 10-year road map to boost its processing and manufacturing as part of a plan to challenge China’s dominance in the supply of products key to the transition to clean energy.
“The team at BlackEarth are working toward the establishment of a downstream processing plant, and we see the European market as a key destination for our range of products,” BlackEarth managing director Tom Revy said, with the company adding that the decision to join the alliance was made before Biden became president or the Australian government released its plans.
“Many of the existing [alliance] members are already engaged with our partner in Europe, and this provides us with enormous opportunities that are unique to BlackEarth.”
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The alliance, launched in 2017 to secure a stable battery cell manufacturing value chain in Europe, said in a separate statement that Biden’s move was reflective of its own long-held strategy to build alternative supply chains for the production of batteries that would correct the imbalance in the global ecosystem.