Germany campaigns against new EU rules for batteries' carbon footprint - media report

The German government is opposing new draft EU rules that could make it more difficult for battery production factories to scale up in the country, according to a letter to the EU Commission seen by Table.Media and reported in Focus Online. In the letter, the government warned that the carbon footprint calculation methods and thresholds "should not undermine investment" for battery production in EU member states, but should help "distinguish clean European production from less climate-friendly batteries from third countries."

Starting 2028, battery production would be subject to strict CO2 emissions limits under the EU plans. The draft states that the EU would measure the carbon footprint of battery production based on the host country’s electricity mix, rather than the actual power sources used at a given production location. This would benefit countries with a high share of renewables and nuclear power like Sweden and France. Germany has a relatively high share of coal and gas in its energy mix, meaning its batteries would be considered dirtier than ones from those countries. The government wants to use the average carbon footprint of European electricity for the calculation until 2030, and then a gradual transition to national values that would apply from 2035, according to Focus Online.  

The letter mentions the USA and China as third countries where the CO2 footprint of electricity production is much higher than the EU average. At the same time, the government makes it clear that it wants to ensure cheap batteries can continue to come in from China so as not to hinder European carmakers' access to foreign battery technology.  

German industry associations had already called for government intervention against the plans, which they labelled bad news for climate action. They called on the EU to consider power purchase agreements in the regulation, whereby companies sign up to receive electricity from a specific supplier, usually from renewable power sources. The government appeared to back this call in the draft letter, according the article.