{"id":100039,"date":"2026-10-27T13:18:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T12:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/?post_type=pressemitteilung&p=100039"},"modified":"2026-10-28T11:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T10:24:12","slug":"100039","status":"publish","type":"pressemitteilung","link":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/pressemitteilung\/100039\/","title":{"rendered":"New study shows: Europe's transport can become climate neutral, while at the same time the consumption of battery metals can be reduced."},"content":{"rendered":"

Joint press release
\nNew study shows: Europe's transport can become climate neutral, while at the same time the consumption of battery metals can be reduced.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Berlin, 19 October 2026:<\/strong> A published today study<\/a> concludes that Europe can reduce the need for battery metals while achieving climate neutrality in road transport. The European Commission's unilateral focus on new sources of raw materials will not be sufficient to achieve greater strategic autonomy (1). Only through recycling could Europe's demand for primary lithium and nickel up to 50 by 2040% lowered, in the case of cobalt even 70%<\/strong>. 40 organisations call on the EU to respond swiftly to these findings (2).<\/p>\n

\"The EU will not solve the raw materials challenges if it acts in the same way as China or the US under Donald Trump. Instead, the EU should start on the consumption side and take steps towards a resource-efficient future\", stresses Michael Reckordt, Head of the Raw Materials Program at PowerShift<\/strong>, and adds: \"The study by Oeko-Institut clearly shows that there is already an enormous potential for raw material savings, there is only a lack of policy measures to leverage this potential (3). The EU Circular Economy Act announced for November should act as a lever to reduce dependencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study was carried out by Oeko-Institut on behalf of the members of the EU Raw Materials Coalition. SOMO, Seas At Risk and PowerShift<\/strong> created. The results of the study appear at a time when the EU is preparing a number of important decisions that will shape Europe's approach to raw materials, transport and industrial policy (4), such as the EU Circular Economy Act.<\/p>\n

Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez, Senior Researcher for Climate Justice at SOMO<\/strong>, \"Europe needs a strategy not only for where its critical raw materials come from, but also for how much it actually needs. Reducing consumption is essential for Europe\u2019s economic and geopolitical resilience. Smaller, more efficient vehicles, more recycling and less car-dependent mobility help to reduce the need for raw materials. This reduces dependence on a small number of suppliers and reduces the pressure to develop new mining areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Europe should not consider mining as the only way to secure the materials needed for transformation. Research shows that Europe can replace new mining projects with other measures that are already available and scalable today. This also helps to reduce the pressure to develop new assisted areas, including the deep sea\", says Simon Granberg, Head of Deep Sea Mining at Seas at Risk<\/strong>, \u201cEurope can now take this path and exclude a \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d that cements the extraction of raw materials from vulnerable ecosystems and increasing disposal in landfills.\u201d<\/p>\n

study<\/strong><\/a> and summary<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Media contacts:<\/strong>
\nLisa St\u00fcve<\/strong>, PowerShift, Lisa.stueve@power-shift.de, +49 (0) 157 777 64 847
\nSara Tironi<\/strong>, Seas At Risk, stironi@seas-at-risk.org, +32 (0) 483 457 483
\nLaura Rincon<\/strong>, SOMO, laura@somo.nl, +31 (0) 686 658 413<\/p>\n

NOTES TO THE REDACTION<\/strong>
\n(1) \u201cDecarbonising Road Transport Beyond Mining-Intensive Pathways\u201d<\/a> was commissioned by Oeko-Institut Consult gGmbH on behalf of SOMO, Seas At Risk and PowerShift within the framework of the EU Raw Materials Coalition.
\nIt is based at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). The coalition currently comprises more than 60 member organisations.<\/p>\n

(2) 40 organisations call on the EU to take action on the basis of these results to reduce Europe's reliance on primary metals for batteries. The full list can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(3) The report identifies five possible levers at EU level: (A) Recycling: Strengthening the battery recycling targets and the share of recycled materials under the EU Circular Economy Act, the Battery Regulation and the Critical Raw Materials Act. (B) Smaller vehicles: The \u2018Automotive Omnibus\u2019 and national incentives should promote smaller, affordable and resource-efficient electric cars.<\/p>\n

(C) Energy efficiency: The revision of CO2 standards and the Motor Vehicle Labelling Directive should be used to make the energy efficiency of vehicles a stronger policy criterion. (D) Alternatives to car use: The 2028-2034 EU budget, TEN-T and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans should be used to boost investment in affordable public transport and active mobility. (E) Reduction of unnecessary journeys: The Quality Jobs Act, the Social Climate Fund and the second EU Emissions Trading System (ETS2) should promote sustainable mobility, as well as measures such as teleworking and the \u2018city of short distances\u2019.<\/p>\n

(4) Significant political processes currently underway in the EU include the upcoming Circular Economy Act or the Automotive Omnibus package.<\/p>\n

PowerShift<\/strong> is a German non-governmental organisation based in Berlin. We work on trade and investment policy, climate and resource justice, energy policy, raw materials policy and mobility. Our activities include the preparation of analyses and background papers, education and information work, public relations and participation in civil society campaigns.<\/p>\n

Seas at Risk (SAR)<\/strong> is an association of European non-governmental organisations whose common goal is to protect the marine environment of all international waters. The organisation works at European and international level and is committed to sustainable environmental and fisheries legislation and measures to protect and restore the seas.<\/p>\n

SOMO<\/strong>, the Centre for Research on Multinational Enterprises, examines the effects and drivers of unjustified corporate power. Independently, objectively and critically, it pursues a clear goal \u2013 a fair and sustainable world in which public interests take precedence over corporate interests.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gemeinsame Pressemitteilung Neue Studie zeigt: Europas Verkehr kann klimaneutral werden, gleichzeitig l\u00e4sst sich der Verbrauch von Batteriemetallen reduzieren. Berlin, 19. Oktober 2026: Eine heute ver\u00f6ffentlichte Studie kommt zum Ergebnis, dass Europa den Bedarf an Batteriemetallen reduzieren und gleichzeitig Klimaneutralit\u00e4t im Stra\u00dfenverkehr erlangen kann. Der einseitige Fokus der europ\u00e4ischen Kommission auf neue Rohstoffquellen wird nicht ausreichen,…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":100044,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[526,75,204,205],"thema":[18],"coauthors":[506],"class_list":["post-100039","pressemitteilung","type-pressemitteilung","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-batteriemetalle","tag-rohstoffe-de","tag-verkehr","tag-verkehrswende","thema-rohstoffpolitik","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pressemitteilung\/100039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pressemitteilung"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pressemitteilung"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100039"},{"taxonomy":"thema","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thema?post=100039"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/power-shift.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=100039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}