Do electric cars have a future in Europe?

The battery raw materials giant China was recently confronted with unforeseen news: Lithium batteries are becoming scarce. Their rising prices made the production of e-cars unprofitable for many Chinese companies despite immense demand. This is despite the fact that the country is virtually overflowing with the commodities needed for batteries and electric cars.

Fundamentally, China is well-positioned when it comes to lithium, technology metals, and rare earths. Nevertheless, according to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the government felt compelled to investigate the battery value chain for hoarding, price gouging, and unfair competition. For the political leadership, nothing less than the country’s booming electric vehicle industry is at stake.

China is one of the world’s largest exporters of both batteries and electric cars. In addition, 75% of battery cell production capacity is located in China, and 90% of anode and electrolyte production capacity. We ask ourselves: What do the Chinese supply bottlenecks mean for the automotive industry in Europe?

The honest answer is: we don’t know. The only thing we can do is continue to store the technology metals and rare earths that the industry needs for the production of electric cars. In doing so, we are definitely making a contribution to the security of supply for the automotive industry and offering investors the opportunity for attractive returns, including tax-free storage and sale, as well as securing the investment in accordance with the very latest technical standards.