Germany: We Must Build the Best Batteries to Save Jobs

Germany's Economy Minister emphasized how important it is to stay competitive on the battery scene.

“We can only prevent massive job losses if we build the world’s best batteries in Europe,” said Minister Peter Altmaier.

With the global rise of alternative energy and electric vehicles, energy storage is crucial, and this has triggered a battery renaissance (for more, see our PSDcast, “The Future of Energy Storage”).

And Germany has some ground to cover to compete with the big boys.

The top lithium producer in the world is Australia (with Deutschland not in the conversation), and while Germany is in the top 10 for lithium ion battery exports, they’ve a ways to go to catch up to battery titans like Singapore, the United States, China, and Hong Kong.

And China has plans to expand battery production to the tune of more than 120 gigawatt-hours a year by 2021.

See more on this topic here: http://www.worldstopexports.com/lithium-ion-batteries-exports-by-country/