Batteries – an exciting opportunity

This exceeds Norway's combined potential for offshore wind and hydrogen. By comparison, Norwegian seafood exports were worth just over NOK 100 billion in 2019.

In other words, the ecosystem surrounding the battery value chain represents a major opportunity for sustainable value creation in Norway. It builds on Norway's existing comparative advantages. Renewable energy, expertise in the circular economy and materials sector, and our ability to supply a rapidly growing European market, combined with the expected rise in electric mobility and the transition to renewable energy, could drive exponential growth.

Growing demand presents a significant opportunity for Norwegian industry, for both large and small businesses. Together with Team Norway, our ambition is to build an ecosystem that attracts more foreign investment and enables us to produce high-quality products ready for export to the European market.

Norway has a high proportion of electric cars, and in 2020 they accounted for more than 50 per cent of new car sales in the country for the first time. We also have a mature and advanced maritime industry that is at the forefront of electrification. This is attracting international attention and creating significant opportunities for the reuse and recycling of batteries. It enables us to develop new business models and technological solutions that could later be exported and deployed across Europe. Thanks to Norway's renewable energy mix, producing battery cells, anodes, cathodes and battery raw materials in Norway will reduce the overall carbon footprint of battery production in Europe.

Through our High Potential Opportunities programme, we are developing a programme to support major strategic initiatives. This also includes other services, such as Invest in Norway, which facilitates foreign investment in the ecosystem where Norwegian technology or expertise alone is not enough. Together with businesses and industry, we are preparing a joint strategic positioning project that will harness the Norway brand and increase our visibility.
To build a battery industry, we must also look beyond the Norwegian ecosystem. We are therefore seeking closer strategic cooperation with our neighbours in Sweden and Finland. Together with Business Sweden and Business Finland, we are mapping the Nordic battery value chain and key considerations for potential foreign investors. We will also jointly analyse opportunities to strengthen one another across the Nordic region. This work will result in a public report, which will be available later this year.

The government's climate action plan includes measures such as requiring new buildings to be EV-ready and the public sector to purchase electric cars and buses. These measures can help Norway further strengthen its position as a driving force for electrification.

In its recently published climate action plan for 2021–2030, the Norwegian government announced that the cost of emitting greenhouse gases would rise gradually to NOK 2,000 per tonne by 2030. The EU is also updating its legislation and presented a new regulation on batteries on 10 December 2020. New legislation was needed to make batteries a genuine enabler of the green transition. New socio-economic conditions, technological developments, markets and uses for batteries have emerged, and the environmental challenges they pose require renewed ambition. The European Commission believes that global demand for batteries could be 14 times higher than current levels by 2030 and estimates that the EU could account for 17 per cent of this demand. Growth in global battery demand will sharply increase demand for raw materials, particularly cobalt, lithium, nickel and manganese, with a significant environmental impact. The growing use of batteries will also generate more waste.

At the same time, the industry is now better equipped to recycle more, ensure that more recycled materials can be reused and achieve higher rates of material recovery. This puts the sector in a stronger position to become circular. Norway also has a comparative advantage in the circular economy, which is high on the agenda for Norwegian projects across the battery ecosystem. Beyonder in Rogaland is testing new technology that uses sawdust, a by-product of the forestry industry, in its batteries. Combined with Norwegian production powered largely by renewable energy, this could give us some of the world's most sustainable, circular batteries, designed to be safe throughout their life cycle.

The new EU regulation sets out specific requirements for every stage of the value chain. This means ensuring that raw materials are sourced sustainably and responsibly, and that battery cells, modules and packs are produced using clean energy and contain very few hazardous substances. It also requires long-lasting designs and materials that can be recycled or reused, with particular attention paid to the end-of-life stage to minimise waste. Ensuring that the valuable materials in batteries flow back into the economy is essential to creating a circular and economically sustainable battery ecosystem.

To make a significant impact on the EU battery market, these measures are legally binding and have been adopted at EU level. The regulations provide legal certainty for businesses throughout the value chain and pave the way for the major investments needed to meet market demand.

Norway is well positioned to succeed across several parts of the battery value chain, provided substantial investment is made immediately. Without this commitment, others will capture the market share, leaving Norway unable to benefit from the value created.

The battery value chain – Process21 expert report (PDF)

European Commission: Questions and Answers on Sustainable Battery Regulations.