DTI courts Italy minerals supply market for EV battery production
THE Philippines is aiming to be Italy’s strategic partner in supplying critical minerals needed for the Italian electric vehicles (EV) and battery production sector, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
At the high-level dialogue on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-italy Economic Relations on Wednesday, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said the Philippines could be Italy’s partner in supplying critical minerals as the country has abundant resources of nickel, cobalt, and copper. Apart from this, Pascual stressed, the Philippines is also a dominant supplier of nickel ore, not only in Asia but the rest of the world.
“It accounts for 31 percent of global exports. But of course, we now want to have greater value addition locally for our mineral resources,” said Pascual.
The Trade chief added that the country is also moving towards an innovative and greener economy by taking advantage of the increasing global demand for green metals. “The Philippines holds considerable potential in green metals production,” added Pascual.
At the turnover ceremony last week, Pascual said that among the priorities under his watch are utilizing the Philippines’s vast resources of green metals such as nickel and cobalt which, he said, are key inputs for battery manufacturing and copper, which is an essential input for the production and manufacturing of technology products.
During the ceremony last week, he emphasized that the Philippines can be a vital partner for these critical minerals not only as exporters of ore minerals but as processors and producers of semi-finished and finished products.
In February 2022, IHS Markit Executive Director Rajiv Biswas, at a briefing with the Board of Investments (BOI), said rising EV market would result in more demand for batteries, whose primary components include nickel that is a mineral that is largely available in the Philippines.
On EVS, Pascual shared that the country’s Tariff Commission has recommended eliminating tariffs on electric vehicles. He pointed out that approval of this recommendation would put Italian e-vehicle makers on a level-playing field alongside the country’s free trade agreement partners.
“We are opening our EV market to help develop an ecosystem for a viable market that can support the production of electric vehicles in the Philippines,” said the Trade chief.
In relation to energy, Pascual said the Philippines is on the verge of massive adoption of renewables for energy security. However, Pascual said, renewable energy is characterized by an intermittent power supply. “Thus, our legacy base load grid needs to adapt to more intermittent power sources,” said Pascual.
The Trade chief added that the Philippines is looking forward to technical cooperation with Italy in digitally supported grids for dealing with intermittent power. Moreover, he said, the country needs such solutions “for our small island grids, our off-grid communities, and our priorities on a national scale.”
Pascual also urged Asean and Italy to consider collaboration in terms of aerospace parts manufacturing; aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO); and aerospace research and development.
On smart technologies that paved the way for 4.0 production models, Pascual highlighted two factors that create ample opportunities for Italy and Asean to advance their cooperation—the strength of Italy in manufacturing and the growing interest of Asean in “Agriculture 4.0.”
Under the first factor, which is about the strength of Italy in manufacturing, Pascual said the Philippines views Industry 4.0 as an opportunity to leapfrog to industrialization through the accelerated adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies.
The Trade chief added that the country is focusing on three strategic industry clusters that would drive the country’s hi-tech industrialization namely: Industrial Manufacturing, and Transport Cluster; the Technology, Media and Telecommunication; and Health and Life Science cluster, which includes pharmaceutical products.
Meanwhile, on Agriculture 4.0 as both Italy and the Philippines face the challenge of climate change, Pascual said that this situation creates an opportunity for the two countries to tackle the problem together.
At the forum, Italian Deputy Minister Manlio di Stefano said Northern Italy has been experiencing its worst drought for over 70 years. Meanwhile, the Philippines is similarly facing the threat of climate change to food security.
“Thus, we look forward to technology cooperation on the future of food, be these plant-based alternatives, health and safety certifications, urban agriculture, or innovation centers focused on the food industry,” said Pascual.
The Trade chief also said that the country is looking forward to technology and policy cooperation with Italy on the Circular economy, especially in green product innovation, clean production technology, and sustainability mechanisms.