As demand for batteries rises, material availability and sourcing is becoming an increasingly topical issue. The final adoption of the EU’s Batteries regulation today, 10 July 2023, is a game changer for Europe’s energy transition. By introducing Battery Passports, which will include information on the share of renewable content in batteries, the Regulation will bring into focus the contribution of renewable materials. With strong momentum behind electrification, the manufacturing industry risks simply shifting the problem rather than solving it, if it simply transitions from the use of fossil fuels in the grid to fossil-based materials and other finite resources in batteries. But the good news is that renewable alternatives, like Lignode®, are starting to appear on the horizon. The new Batteries regulation not only sends an important signal to the market, but it will also be a tangible way to measure how renewable materials can help Europe to move away from a fossil-based economy.
Resource efficiency is key to Europe’s transition and Stora Enso’s pilot production of bio-based anode material for batteries has already demonstrated potential in this space. With mounting pressure to increase and diversify battery materials production in Europe, looking at renewable by-products like lignin could be a way to change a battery’s composition. Doing so will contribute to European self-sufficiency and resilience while also allowing us to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, by focusing on more sustainable materials closer to home.
July 10, 2023
(press release)
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At Stora Enso, we believe in Doing good for people and the planet. We always want to use our raw material, wood, in the best possible way. Through innovation we are constantly finding new ways to use not only wood itself, but side-streams from wood-based industrial processes. Lignode® by Stora Enso is a tree-based material that replaces fossil-based and mined graphite in the anodes of batteries. Lignode is made of lignin, which is a by-product in the production of cellulose fiber and one of the largest renewable sources of carbon anywhere.
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