Workers are seen at the production line of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV) at a factory in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China August 28, 2018.
"This will skyrocket our demand for lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers, which is expected to multiply between 10 and 30 times in the coming years," the paper, prepared by the Spanish presidency of the EU, said.
While the EU has a strong position in the intermediate and assembly phases of making electrolysers, with a more than 50% global market share, it relies heavily on China for fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries crucial for electric vehicles.
Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells were not the only area of EU vulnerability, the Spanish presidency paper said.
"The EU has a relatively strong position in the latter, but it shows significant weaknesses in the other areas," it said.
Persons:
Stringer, Jan Strupczewski, Conor Humphries
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, European, EU, Reuters, European Commission, European Central Bank, Thomson
Locations:
Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Rights MADRID, Russia, Ukraine, Granada, Spain, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Spanish