Batteries, Storage and Electric Mobility
Europe’s Strategic Storage Chain
Batteries are no longer a narrow component of the electric-vehicle transition. They have become a strategic storage infrastructure linking automotive competitiveness, grid stability, critical raw materials, industrial electrification, data-centre resilience, defence energy systems and the future economics of European manufacturing. Europe’s exposure is therefore not confined to battery-cell production. It runs across the entire chain: lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite and phosphate; refining and active materials; cathodes, anodes, electrolytes and separators; cells, modules, packs, battery management systems, stationary storage, recycling, second life and regulated battery data. The central issue is whether Europe can turn this fragmented chain into a controlled industrial capability before dependence on imported batteries and materials becomes a structural constraint on mobility, energy security and defence resilience.
The report is structured in four parts. The first defines batteries, storage and electric mobility as a single strategic system rather than a set of separate clean-technology markets. The second examines the European legal and policy architecture, from the Batteries Regulation and the Critical Raw Materials Act to the Automotive Action Plan, the European Battery Alliance, BATT4EU, Battery 2030+, electricity-market reform and charging infrastructure regulation. The third analyses the industrial and technological value chain, including core chemistries, materials, cell manufacturing, battery software, grid-scale storage and recycling. The fourth assesses the companies and investment signals that matter for Defence Finance Monitor, identifying where strategic value is likely to emerge across materials, manufacturing, compliance infrastructure, storage integration and defence energy resilience.