Eurobattery Minerals prospects for minerals for batteries throughout Europe, including Spain
If the different crises that the automobile sector has been suffering for a few years have taught us anything, especially the shortage of semiconductor chips, it is Europe’s tremendous vulnerability with respect to Asia.
For decades, Europe has outsourced battery production and has indirectly allowed Asian countries, especially China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, to learn, develop, innovate and ultimately take the lead in the electric car race.
As in any change of cycle and paradigm, such as the one in which the automobile sector is immersed, the tree has not allowed Europe or European car manufacturers to see the forest, while the production of internal combustion vehicles in the Old Continent continued being highly demanded and the standard to follow worldwide.
And while in Asia, silently cheetah, and with orders from Europe in order to reduce costs, to their own. Change of cycle, Europe accelerates towards the electric car and the companies of our continent are caught with the wrong foot.
But there is more: the more we know about the electric car and batteries, we understand that to be neutral in terms of carbon footprint, it is enough for us not to emit gases while driving. You have to have a holistic view, from when the battery is produced –and how–, to how the car has been manufactured, to how the minerals for the batteries have been extracted.
Precisely in an attempt to change this vicious circle and, above all, to reduce Europe’s dependence on Asia, Eurobattery Minerals, a Swedish company whose vision is “to help Europe become self-sufficient in minerals for fully traceable batteries” and to act in this way “ethics”. We interviewed its CEO, the Spanish Roberto García Martínez.
Can you tell us about the vision and strategy of Eurobattery Minerals?
Mining battery minerals in Europe for Europe and under democratic and ethical preconditions to make Europe more independent from China or Congo, countries with a poor record on labor and human rights or environmental protection.
He talks about “ethical” sources. What do you mean exactly?
Eurobattery Minerals stands for sustainable mining, modern mining in rational and good conditions for humans and the environment. Ethical sourcing and mining means that we definitely care about labor rights, the environment, democratic standards and are actively working to implement traceability in mining.
We are a Swedish mining company. Until now, between 70 and 80% of the world’s demand for cobalt comes from the Congo, where some 50,000 children work in poorly managed and protected mines. We provide ethical means to stop Europe’s dependence on minerals from these mines and provide raw materials, which are extracted in a truly fair and fully traceable way.
Does being “ethical” result in increased costs? If so, how can you convince European car and battery manufacturers to buy your minerals?
Electric car buyers want to do something for the environment. And therefore they will ask if all the components of your car are sustainable and fully traceable. The European Commission is discussing the introduction of a battery registry that provides information on battery history.
In the future, automakers will run into trouble when they tell their customers they don’t know exactly where the raw materials for their batteries come from. We will provide precise evidence of the origin of our critical minerals, as well as the circumstances of their exploration and exploitation.
If this is more expensive, we would like to change the perspective, if we do not obtain ethical sources and reduce the dependence on minerals from countries with poor labor conditions, the human price that any owner of an electric car will pay is enormous.
Do you think Europe has missed the electromobility train in favor of Asia? You say that Europe does not have to depend on Asia…
Europe woke up very late when it comes to the electric revolution. But not too late. Until now, Europe is completely dependent on Asia, the Congo or South America in terms of critical raw materials for battery production.
At the same time, the EU is aiming for Europe to become a superpower when it comes to batteries: for this to become a sustainable reality, we need more mines in Europe. The good news is that we have a lot of raw materials underground throughout the region; now everything that Europe wants…
Talking about mining in Europe sounds nineteenth-century… Is there room for mining in Europe?
There is a great unknown. The mining of yesteryear has nothing to do with modern mining. I am referring to modern mines with the achievements of modern mining, minimally invasive mining with the technical achievements of geological science. I think people need to know what modern mining is all about, as minerals are fundamental to everyday life.
What obstacles has Eurobattery Minerals encountered so far?
We have successfully fought for prospecting licenses both in Finland and in Spain. And we are listed on the Stockholm and Stuttgart stock exchanges. We manage hundreds of surveys in 3 European countries with very positive results.
We have preliminary results of 60 million tons with 0.25% nickel in Spain. We are currently looking to establish a new mining project in Central Europe and generally join forces both in the mining sector and with car manufacturers. This is our next challenge, in addition to having our first mine in production in the medium term.
According to the agenda of the European Union, in 2050 the entire automobile fleet of the Old Continent should be decarbonised. Are there enough raw materials for so many electric cars?
Definitely not. European countries are completely dependent on raw materials for batteries that are imported from China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Chile, Congo, etc. We are currently seeing through the semiconductor supply bottleneck how vulnerable Europe is if there are no secure and resilient supply chains.
All these metals, such as copper, nickel, cobalt, vanadium and rare earths, are found in our soils, especially in Spain and the Scandinavian countries. The demand for these raw materials is already huge. Gigafactories are springing up everywhere for the production of many millions of batteries.
Europe has the knowledge and capabilities to build everything from B to Z. But what is missing is the most important thing, the base, the A: raw materials. The demand for these metals will increase even more in the coming years and if Europe does not become largely self-sufficient then dependency on disreputable states will become a big problem.
Everybody talks about recycling, and that’s good, we should recycle. But you know, even if all used batteries were optimally recycled, that wouldn’t cover even 20 percent of the demand. The solution: We need more mines on our territory!
Eurobattery Minerals a prospecting project in Spain. Have you received support from the Spanish Government? Have you received complaints from environmental organizations?
We are working closely with the local communities and it is natural that there are different points of view when we talk about large infrastructure projects like a mine, and that is also the reason why there are strict processes for the environmental permit that allow all parties interested in expressing their opinion.
The one in Spain is a nickel project and, therefore, directly aimed at new technologies for the electric vehicle, environmentally sustainable. The Spanish Government is very favorable to everything that can contribute to environmental sustainability and a change in the energy model.
