Wanted: European Batteries for Defence
05 December 2025
To:
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné
Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič
Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius
Dear President,
Dear Executive Vice-President,
Dear Commissioners,
We are writing as practitioners of energy, economic, environmental, and national security at a moment when all of these, as well as Europe’s industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy, are threatened by China’s dominance of critical resources and supply chains.
The war in Ukraine is being fought on many levels, but it is already hailed as the world’s first “drone war.” It may also lay claim to the title of the world’s first battery, AI, and autonomy war as well. And all of these rely on secure and trusted supply chains for critical battery components and materials.
Building better batteries and secure supply chains has been a top-of-inbox issue for Western political and industrial leaders for several years, initially driven by the push for electric vehicles. More recently, COVID and the Ukraine war have alerted us to both our near-total dependence on China, and the dangers of depending on adversaries for the building blocks of modern economic and military power. Meanwhile, battery capabilities have soared, and prices plummeted, in one of the greatest, if less heralded, innovation revolutions of recent years.
In a recent RUSI article, Wanted: More Batteries for Defence, NATO expert Lukas Trakimavičius laid out the extent of the military’s battery needs, which go well beyond the ubiquitous low-tech drones to virtually all major systems of today, and form the basis of Europe’s future defence posture:
“On land, batteries enable everything from portable devices – radios, night-vision goggles, GPS units – to microgrids and directed energy weapons. At sea, they are used not only in submarines, but also in surface ships, torpedoes and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In the air, batteries are found in missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and even fighter jets. And in space, they work alongside solar panels to power military satellites, enabling surveillance, positioning and communications.”
On December 10, the European Commission will announce a number of initiatives on industrial transformation, vehicle electrification, batteries, and “Made in Europe.” It is vital that in its strategy and proposals, the Commission reflect the critical importance of batteries and battery components for defence, and the need to ensure these supply chains are secure, resilient, and grounded in local, European-controlled production. While defence is a small part of overall battery demand, defence budgets are critical investment and innovation drivers and, with their special requirements, must be part of the broader effort and economies of scale.
The threats are not theoretical. The ongoing U.S.-China trade war underscores the risks to European industry posed by massive dependency exacerbated by a volatile global trade rivalry. It’s not clear whether Europe is even covered by the Washington-Beijing settlement announced in October. In any event, with the current state of volatility, and given China’s command economy, a combative U.S. Administration focused on U.S. priorities, and the ever-present threat of even greater geopolitical turbulence, Europe is far from out of the woods.
In this light, we urge that the European Commission provide a significant boost to European battery value chains by mandating the use of local content requirements for batteries, high-power energy storage technologies and their components in the Industrial Accelerator Act and the automotive package:
As the EU expands its focus from vehicle electrification to broader questions of industrial and military competitiveness, it must aggregate and clearly transmit demand signals across sectors to maximise economies of scale while ensuring niche requirements (such as high-end defence applications) are met. This must be built on sourcing from European, allied, and partner raw material producers and processors to incentivise, build, and protect non-China supply chains.
Europe’s battery production needs output-based support from the EU Innovation Fund and other sources. This will improve cost competitiveness by lowering marginal manufacturing costs, which is crucial in a market facing intense price pressures from foreign producers.
Any state aid or other incentive given in the automotive and battery supply chain should be tied to simple and transparent “Made in Europe” content criteria to ensure security of supply, product integrity, and information security. Funding should go to projects that establish, maintain, and expand battery production within the EU and strengthen allied value chains - built on local and allied control, sourcing, workforce and technology development, and circularity to maximise use of scarce resources.
Funding, tax, and regulatory instruments should encourage synergies between the automotive and defence sector, particularly drone manufacturing, to boost the demand for homegrown battery production. Robotics manufacturing can contribute to both civilian resilience and defence, enhancing grid operations, preparedness, and response to hybrid or kinetic attacks.
Batteries play a pivotal role in building a robust defence industrial base. Targeted investment in critical supply chains contributes to meeting NATO’s requirement for an additional 1.5% of defence spending on defence-related capabilities agreed at last summer’s Hague Summit. This investment will be spread thin over multiple domains, and though not all battery-related projects would qualify, it offers another opportunity to direct funding to bolster specialised defence-critical and dual-use supply chains. It is also an opportunity to maximise and leverage cooperation with the UK and other non-EU allies.
The EU wields the greatest market and regulatory leverage and should not be afraid to use it. We commend you and the Commission for your diligent work in bolstering Europe’s economic competitiveness, security, and defence, and stand ready to be of assistance in any way possible.
Signatories:
Dr. Jaak Aaviksoo, former Minister of Defence, Estonia;
Dr. Andrzej Fałkowski, LTG (ret.), former Polish Deputy Chief of Defence and Military Representative to NATO & EU Military Committees;
Peter Flory, Senior Fellow, European Initiative for Energy Security, former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment;
Jeppe Kofod, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ukrenergo, and former Foreign Minister of Denmark;
General (ret.) Philippe Lavigne, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation;
Joan MacNaughton, Executive Chair of the World Energy Trilemma, former Chair IEA and DG of Energy, UK Government;
Taavi Madiberk, CEO and co-founder, Skeleton Technologies;
Ann Mettler, former Director General, European Commission;
General (ret.) Tom Middendorp, former Chief of Defence, The Netherlands;
Albéric Mongrenier, Executive Director, European Initiative for Energy Security;
Lieutenant-General (ret.) Richard Nugee, former Non-Executive Director for Climate Change and Net Zero for the UK Ministry of Defence;
Jonas Parello-Plesner, Executive Director, Alliance of Democracies Foundation;
Ambassador Andris Piebalgs, former European Commissioner for Energy;
Julian Popov, former Bulgarian Minister of Environment;
General (ret.) Sir Richard Shirreff, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe;
Ambassador Reka Szemerkenyi, energy expert and former Ambassador of Hungary to the United States;
William Todts, Executive Director, T&E.