Total will only invest in European batteries without ‘Chinese unfair competition’

Total, a large French oil and gas company, says it will only invest significant amounts of money in large-scale European battery production if there is a level playing field. According to the CEO of Total, Chinese producers still have an unfair advantage in the market.

Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne says he will only invest heavily if it is possible to compete on a level playing field with Chinese and Asian manufacturers, Reuters reports. Pouyanne indicated in May that Total’s battery division, Saft, planned to invest more than 200 million euros in a new European battery production alliance, consisting of Siemens, Solvay and Manz.

The idea was to start manufacturing a new generation of lithium-ion batteries and eventually move to solid-state batteries to compete with Asian and American competitors. However, Pouyanne now says that Saft will not participate for lack of a level playing field.

He states, for example, that some Chinese producers receive state aid. He also says that if a company in China wants to release a vehicle with a battery, the rules state that the battery must also be built in China by a Chinese company.

Pouyanne says Total is in talks with European governments to see if protection is possible. He says he wants to avoid a scenario such as in the market for solar panels, in which European companies invested heavily, only to be outcompeted by Chinese producers.

Recently, the French government called on European battery and car manufacturers to join forces to meet the growing demand for electric cars and compete with Asia. The German government previously announced that it would invest one billion euros in a European consortium consisting of Varta Microbattery, BASF and Ford-Werke.