EU Commission funds the EBA Academy

Originally launched last year by France and EIT InnoEnergy, the EBA Academy aims to train around 150,000 people for the battery industry by 2025. France, Spain and Hungary have already expressed their intention to launch the EBA Academy training programs.

“To meet the demands of the rapidly growing European battery value chain, this ’fit for purpose’ industry-led approach is needed in the education and training sector since the volume,” says Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy. “800.000 workers need to be upskilled and reskilled by 2025. Such a massive endeavour requires this boosted approach.”

On behalf of the EU Commission, Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič attended the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the expansion of the EBA Academy. Šefčovič is responsible for the European Battery Alliance and has also been a strong driver of IPCEI funding. “In 2017, the EU battery industry was barely on the map. Today, Europe is a global battery hotspot, with 20 gigafactories emerging in our member states,” he said. “By 2030, we should be producing enough batteries each year to power around 11 million electric cars, and moving full steam ahead toward strategic autonomy in this crucial sector.”

Update 12 December 2023:

EIT InnoEnergy has reached a milestone in training specialists for the European battery industry. The InnoEnergy Skills Institute has now reached the mark of 50,000 participants in its training courses.

The training courses, now run in collaboration with the European Battery Alliance, range from battery basics to technical courses on battery management systems, battery testing and safety. With 35 learning packages in ten languages and a growing network of 4,000 local training providers, the number of trainers and learners is expected to grow exponentially.

innoenergy.com, innoenergy.com (update)