just to reverse the researchers and scientists all over the world for a no race against time. they are peers and rivals with one daring goals to help smart nature, the more likes watching it on youtube dw documentary. take a look at this chart. it shows how much with him the use producing it may look like a lot, but compared to the rest of the world, it's only point one percent. basically next to nothing. what's the units of white gold? we need to make batteries for electric, cars and shoot wants to serve renewable energy. so a pretty important mineral for the green transition to you is trying to pin angle point one percent. it means the block has to massively rely on imports. and you don't need to be an expert to see the big problem here because it means any trouble overseas could spell disaster for the used battery needs. i think the u is

panicking. 0 is very, very late. severe teen commission, which draws up new laws for the 27 member park, has hatched a plan. they want to build out a homegrown lithium supply chain from mining to processing, and turning it into batteries, all of which is going to happen in someone's backyard. you cannot come to serbia and take land from the state being from and expect people to be what. so how realistic are the use goals really? first, let's take a look at the current state of the east battery supply chain starting with what's called upstream. that's a mining extraction of for all the t m, australia to it, and china, other roles, top producers here, accounting for 90 percent of all rather be you producing very little and imports. instead. this for all of your needs to be purified before you can make batteries. this is called mid stream. and this is where the biggest problem is you probably scurnover as a senior director at the non profit transport and environment. she works on

sustainable batteries and critical raw materials because anywhere between 70 to 90 percent of that stage, depending on the mineral, is actually in china that you have so little domestic. we're finding capabilities that it currently in ports, almost all of its process slipping. and then there's the downstream part, which is making the actual batteries that you does have some battery factories, but 74 percent of production capacity is owned by korean companies. oh jeez, plant and pull into accounts for 50 percent alone. also, buying batteries from abroad is still cheaper than making them in europe, especially since the cost of importing them is so low. right now, as we're struggling to scale that to re manufacturing the import terrace into europe is just over one percent. one percent. why would you ever thought that one percent? the big picture is this. your very, very much depends on the rest of the world for its batteries. and this turns into a real problem when something unexpected happens. for example, prices for process,

lithium, hit record highs after cobit lockdown semester, but supply chains and cause of severe delays in mining. after that, you signed long term supply contracts with with him, producers in australia to a in argentina. then it got the serious about legislation. i am allowed seeing 80 pin critical role materials x. the law says that by 2030. so basically tomorrow you has to serve 10 percent of its critical raw materials domestically entered 40 percent of its raw materials and to battery good stuff inside the u. and that's a long way from the side is quite a completely unrealistic, a dr. young called as a joe chemist working on lithium extraction. and he's here for the reality check. when we look very much upstream, i think, is not feasible at all because it takes so much time to, to make a mine and to do the best that there is a fair bit of lithium in europe. 3 point one percent of the world's reserves, according to the european commission mining is going on on

a fiddler that sweep poland. and then of course, the eastern european parts of the main yearbook diarrhea, greece is some money. some of the biggest untapped reserves, though are on the checked german border, austria, spain, and portugal and mining corporations are trying to get out these deposits. london based savannah resources has proposed building several mines in portugal is cover us to but also region in spain with you might be area prints to launch an open pit mine in the rural area of kind of it out where it's planning to operate for 30 years and we're going to check with the public, the scene of that project, brenda, european metals holdings claims to be the largest hardrock lithium project. and e, u am of them all the project that we have now. cut them into operation. then this would be enough for the supply a few rope. so what's holding the back part of the answer is currently playing out in a country more known. so it's biggest kind of start then it's mineral deposits to most

of them are aware of serbia's rich resources and the enormous potential field was confirmed reserves of a $158000000.00 tons of lithium board. serbia isn't a member state of the yet, but what's happening here is emblematic of the continent, the struggles to get their battery industry going. british australian lining, try it for year 10 to has been fighting for mining rights and the jot. our region of western serbia since 2004, a scientific study says that enough with him can be constructed here to cover 90 percent of the continents needs. but residents are furiously protested against the steering land grabs and a destroyed environment. they managed to revoke 3 attempt was licensed in 2022, but after the government new turn, the project was reinstated. in july, president again took to the streets. this country has been slowly sold all to foreign investments. we are known of a coverage as an entry mining active, a split the group market, dana, people just had enough, you know, reason like as much you menissi are in mining companies in the world that could be

the mazda push, the razor mining. we don't want another line, so like we need to clean what's going on the 1st before any findings, investors are allowed to occupy land and time and meeting to waste them. scientific studies showed that research drilling by rio tend to, has already leaked brawn, arsenic and lift him into rivers active. a say the mining site threatens and eco system that has hundreds of protected species with generational firms that produce 70000000 years worth of food per year. survey is not alone. people in portugal, spain and france have also protested plans mining projects in the regions. you know, get the someone comes along to take him on the line or then we roll out the red carpet for him. and we don't ask you different kinds of people i said, model my children and were growing up in the village next. doing this. not in my backyard sense or no indeed for sure. it has pushed back on efforts to extract more of the team and the but i'm like families. supply chains are dependent on the middle child without processing. you can mind as much with him as you want,

but your factory still can't use it. and right now that use which in mystery isn't that shape for lifting, refining this directly to capacity. phillips, i dollars an adviser for the auto industry. he says the biggest problem is that it's still just too expensive to do it in europe. got to bring energy costs down while you have to go where, where you have the fordable, cheap energy, which is at the same time renewable because we want to have sustainable battery supply chain in europe. so this means bringing the refiners to coastal areas for wind, the north for hydro power and the south for solar. recently they did get the ball rolling on refineries. in september 2024 dutch company am g critical minerals launched production edits planned to input this out germany. it prints to produce an, a battery grade lithium for run $500000.00 cds per year. other companies like germany's will kind of energy looks and board based lavista and frances, very creatively named lead team to false,

also have refinery projects and development. but europe will need more than just plant capacity. labor is very, very expensive in, in europe compared to other regions of the world. so i think ultimate sion, of the prophecies will be the key leader. when we look at the state of europe's downstream industry, the weather is sunny or but with a few more storms. this is actually where i think you're going to meet most of its needs. but you already produced half the battery cells that needed in 2022. the majority came from algae plants and poland, and samsung ones and hungry. and the continent is rapidly scaling up. here it is planning to build almost 50 battery factories by 2030. theoretically, if these were total $1.00, turn lots of production capacity. a whopping 10 fold increase from 2023. so there's so much catching up to do. chinese projected 2030 capacity is about 4 turner watts, which means the race might already be over. us for the storms,

the same problems apply to down stream estimated stream establishing a battery. so factory in europe is almost 50 times more expensive than in china according to a transport environment report. and the sector has also been played with bad news from its poster children like sweden, smartphones were 2 workers have died and at least 26. others were seriously injured in factories. in june 2024 bmw, cancel the 2000000000 euro contract after delay delivery. and quality concerns, despite raising 15000000000 and funding the company is struggling so badly and had to weigh off a substantial part of this workforce and solve one of its doctor's market conditions are also partly to blame with him. prices came down again in 2023, which means even cheaper batteries from china that a slump in european easy demand and you're in for a tough. so the veterans available at his 20 no prices because of the huge over capacities which have been built up in china on the last use every actually project . and this is regards to, to mid stream and to downstream. battery project in europe has to, to present

a positive business case. in fact, a report. so sort around half the user announce capacities and 2030 are now considered at risk of being delayed scale down or canceled. all this means that you need to throw money on this binary industry to stand a chance. and you report, sense of 76000000000 euros would be needed just for battery manufacturing to achieve 2030 goals. in 2024, the commission had announced just 9000000000 euros and battery supply chain investment and private investment has also side away compare this to what's happening in the us is 2023 inflation reduction act punched over $70000000000.00 towards a v and battery supply. chain and it works just look at tesla, who pulled some of its investments in germany to focus on the north american market last year. it's so simple, it's so visible by without having any knowledge expense he's been, you know, in business for example, can calculate what will be my return on investment,

the find less than a bad. she's actually in the us. and if i could, i would invest in a pension back to me in the us, what the us has done. we come to because we are a federation of member states. we're not the country in europe. 20 southern member states have to agree then get businesses on board before anything happens in china, the government just does it at the moment, the said the investment climate is a bit chilly. what we need now is from campuses to get to this slump, this, this market slow down for the next couple of years. it's all about having industrial bull listed that will be about the business case and this policy can be around trait. so for example, the terrace on the back to results. it can be around carbon footprints the environmental requirements. that's with the bond, 6 local manufacturing in europe. again, we have it in the plants, but the delay. and of course, finally, it could be simply investment support either full cole. this is towards the

objectives that we talk about. or, as i said, we, we, we go home. so we'll, we'll europe's battery supply chain book, like in the future. my name will likely remain global, that you get this minerals from lots of different countries, which makes it less risky. processing is rather content will need to really up its game. and as for production, you will probably have to get comfortable with some long term relationships. the best way of course, would be if you have joint ventures that would enable you're looking players to, to catch up in terms of the technology and with the agent company. the elephant in the room is that building out this industry has environmental and social costs. so far, all the issues around this polish labor conditions, environmental issues or the export to other companies. and i find this on ethic i find this unacceptable situation. but many of them and the impact of extractive

mining is something people in europe will have to face up to you sooner or later. just look at so the and don't expect that that's not going to happen. where you are, does your region have a working battery supply chain? let us know the comments below and don't forget to like and subscribe the the conflicts crises, every single connection mapped out shows the geopolitical reality. the on the board is what makes things the way they are mapped out, navigating a changing world now on youtube.

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