Britain risks reliance on China for net zero

BRITAIN and Europe risk becoming dependent on China to hit net zero without a massive increase in battery production, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.

Its latest report on the global growth in battery technology warns that China has cornered the market by controlling 85pc of production capacity.

That is alongside China’s dominance in the extraction and processing of critical minerals for batteries, as well as the facilities needed to produce car components such as anodes and cathodes.

Findings from the IEA indicate that batteries will play a key role in cutting global emissions but warned that the

West must expand production facilities or risk becoming reliant on potentially hostile foreign powers.

The report said: “China dominates the battery supply chain with nearly 85pc of global battery cell production capacity and substantial shares in cathode and anode active material production.”

Angus Macneil MP, chairman of the energy security and net zero committee, said the IEA’S report must serve as a “wake-up call in the West”.

He said: “We have seen what happens when all eggs go into the one energy basket. While no two sources or energy types are the same, there is a broad risk of having battery production in the monopoly of one state. Relations with

China are such that things could easily be tricky in future; it might keep relations more stable if the reliance wasn’t one way.” Batteries are becoming an essential part of global energy supplies, particularly in transport where they are critical for electric vehicles.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said battery technology was essential to cutting carbon emissions.

He said: “The combination of solar and batteries is today competitive with new coal plants in India.”

A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We are building up resilient international supply chains that give domestic businesses the long-term certainty they need.”