Today, three leading battery industry associations signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen resilience in the global battery supply chain. The European Battery Alliance (EBA), RECHARGE (Europe’s advanced rechargeable and lithium battery association), and Japan’s Battery Association for Supply Chain (BASC) committed to collaborate on recycling and circularity, data-sharing, talent development, and wider industry cooperation. The agreement is designed to accelerate innovation, reduce strategic dependencies, and boost the global competitiveness of their respective value chains.
The signing was welcomed at the highest political level. European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, called the MoU a concrete step in strengthening EU-Japan industrial ties: “Today’s signing puts our reinforced EU-Japan industrial cooperation into concrete business cases. From closer collaboration on skills training to new joint work on black mass recycling, this industry-led MoU opens new growth opportunities for both European and Japanese companies […]. It helps to reduce our respective strategic dependencies and deepens our EU-Japan cooperation towards a cleaner and more circular world.”
Emma Nehrenheim, Managing Director of the European Battery Alliance, underlined the importance of moving innovations from the laboratory to large-scale deployment. Both Europe and Japan have a keen interest in further strengthening their integrated battery value chains, from raw materials and gigafactories to recycling infrastructure. Through this MoU we commit to leveraging the synergies and expertise in taking innovation from lab to mass market.”
Ilka von Dalwigk, Director General of RECHARGE, emphasised that competitiveness can only be achieved in partnership: “Strengthening the competitiveness of our industries can only be done in collaboration with our partners. The partnership between Japan and Europe in the battery value chain is a vital step forward – where circularity becomes a shared path to global leadership and reduced dependencies.”
Hiroaki Koda, Chairman of BASC, underscored Japan’s reputation for manufacturing excellence and expressed optimism about deeper cooperation. “This MoU lays the foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship that accelerates electrification efforts in both regions and drives innovation in the global battery industry.”
The agreement builds on EU and Japanese commitments made at the July 2025 Tokyo Summit to diversify critical minerals value chains, protect emerging technologies, and reinforce the EU-Japan Green Alliance. Key cooperation areas include boosting black mass recycling for “battery-to-battery” circularity; exchanging battery data to support a circular economy; developing workforce skills; and jointly organizing conferences, exhibitions, and workshops.
Source: EBA250
