• Date: October 12th, Monday, 2026, 10:00 – 11:30
• Online via Zoom

Europe’s automotive industry is being reshaped by the shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, but the emerging EV battery industry is dominated by South Korean and Chinese battery cell manufacturers and battery active material suppliers, as European battery cell producers lag behind. Contrary to expectations, a North Western European battery production network built on European start-ups has not materialized. Instead, Central and Eastern Europe has emerged as one of the largest battery production hubs globally, attracting USD 26 billion in battery investment from South Korean and Chinese investors. The seminar talk explains how these Korean and Chinese investments were driven by geopolitical tensions, climate policies and technological changes that reshaped firms’ business strategies and state responses in Europe as well as in South Korea and China.