A Battery Deal for Europe: One Year Later, Focus Shifts from Vision to Delivery

22 October 2026

Brussels, 22 October 2026 — RECHARGE and BEPA today convened industry leaders, policymakers and stakeholders in Brussels for the plenary session “A Battery Deal for Europe: One Year of Implementation and Strategic Impact”, taking stock of progress made since the launch of the Battery Deal for Europe and discussing the actions needed to strengthen Europe’s battery value chain. Since the launch of A Battery Deal for Europe, more then 350 signatories confirmed their support for its implementation.

Bringing together representatives from the European Commission, industry, research organisations and civil society, the event reviewed developments across the four pillars of the Battery Deal: Innovate, Produce, Buy and Secure, and assessed how recent EU industrial, innovation, trade and sustainability policies are contributing to Europe’s battery ambitions.

“One year ago, we presented a common vision for Europe’s battery future. Today, the objective remains unchanged: Europe must translate ambition into implementation,” said Ilka von Dalwigk, Director General of RECHARGE. “Important steps have been taken, but global competition continues to intensify. Europe now needs faster execution, stronger investment signals and measures that reinforce the competitiveness of the entire battery value chain. The recent Franco-German agreement on the Automotive Package sends the wrong signal at this fragile moment. We call on policy-makers to create the right investment and demand signals through creating lead markets for European made batteries and battery components.”

“Europe has the expertise, industrial capabilities and innovative capacity required to build a world-leading battery ecosystem,” said Fabrice Stassin, Secretary General of BEPA. “The challenge is ensuring that policy instruments deliver at the necessary speed and scale. Continued cooperation between industry, EU institutions and Member States will be essential.”

Discussions during the event focused on industrial scale-up, innovation funding, demand creation, circularity and the resilience of raw material supply chains. Participants agreed that batteries remain a strategic technology at the heart of Europe’s competitiveness, digital and energy transitions as well as industrial sovereignty.

As Europe enters a critical phase for battery investments, RECHARGE and BEPA reiterated their commitment to working with policymakers and stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of the Battery Deal for Europe and secure a competitive, sustainable and resilient battery ecosystem in Europe.