State aid: The Commission approved EUR 2.9 billion in public aid from twelve Member States for a second pan-European research and innovation project.

Based on EU state aid rules, the Commission has approved another important project of common European interest (VPZEI) to support research and innovation in the battery value chain. The project, called European Battery Innovation, was jointly prepared and reported by Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

These twelve member states will allocate approximately 2.9 billion euros for this project in the coming years. The public funds are expected to boost an additional 9 billion euros in private investment, more than three times state aid. The project complements the first VPZEI in the battery value chain, which was approved by the Commission in December 2019.

The project will cover the entire value chain of batteries from the extraction of raw materials, through the design and production of battery cells and assemblies, to recycling and disposal in the circular economy, with a strong emphasis on sustainability. It is expected to contribute to a number of new technological advances, including a different chemical composition of cells and new production processes, and other innovations in the battery value chain, thus complementing what will be achieved thanks to the first VPZEI on batteries.

42 direct participants in the project, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups operating in one or more Member States. Direct participants will work closely with each other in almost 300 forms of cooperation, and will also work with more than 150 external partners such as universities, research organizations and SMEs from across Europe. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2028 (with different deadlines for each subproject).

The project is an example of the link between competition policy and innovation and competitiveness: innovation is encouraged while ensuring that limited public resources are used to attract private investment and that competition is distorted as little as possible. Large amounts of support require accountability and the public must benefit from the investment, so companies receiving support must create positive spillover effects across the EU.

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