Germany plans to provide electric vehicle battery research and development subsidies for Volkswagen, BMW and other manufacturers

Foreign media CNET reported that most German companies currently purchase lithium-ion batteries from Asia, but the German government hopes to change this situation. As early as 2018, the German government announced that it would provide subsidies to local lithium-ion battery manufacturers in order to keep up with the production of Asian countries. More than 30 companies have applied for subsidies, including BMW and battery manufacturer Varta. According to a report released by Reuters on Monday, Volkswagen is now opt-in. 'Volkswagen Group hopes to participate in the initiative of the Minister of Economy, Altmaier, to support the industrial production of mobile and stationary batteries,' a Volkswagen representative said in a statement. Part of the reason for the low production of lithium-ion batteries in Germany is that high labor costs have greatly pushed up the price of research and development. This extremely high cost actually forced Daimler to close its battery production subsidiary Li-Tec in 2015. In addition to subsidies for lithium-ion batteries, the German government has also allocated the equivalent of 1.2 billion US dollars to fund the domestic development of solid-state battery technology to offset the potential loss of work due to the reduction of internal combustion engines. Germany's plan is part of a large-scale plan for the European Union to reduce its dependence on Asia for batteries. Its ultimate goal is that the EU and its member states account for 30% of the global lithium-ion battery market.