EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation Policy Seminar
Key Developments in the Battery Sector and Opportunities for Japan-EU Cooperation—As Part of the Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance

Wednesday 13 May 2026, 16:00–17:30 Tokyo (9:00–10:30 Brussels)
（With simultaneous interpretation, free event, Zoom webinar）

Batteries are critical products to back up intermittency of renewable energies as well as for electrification of mobility. Both EU and Japan are making efforts to make battery industry to be competitive, resilient and environmentally friendly.  In view of challenges for the industry, European Battery Alliance and Japan's Battery Association for Supply Chain (BASC) signed MoU last September.

EU Battery Regulation will be implemented starting August 2027 to obligate usage of recycled materials such as cobalt and lithium and to introduce Battery Passports to disclose carbon footprints. In Japan, policies to tackle production capacity in Japan and supply chain resilience are being implemented.

Battery is a good example for the Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance where the industry works together to tackle the challenges and to be more competitive in the markets. In this webinar, we will welcome representatives from Japanese and EU authorities as speakers to discuss the latest developments in the battery sector, and we will further the discussion with the participation of leaders from the industry on both sides.  For registration, please click the link far below.

Agenda

16:00-16:02 (9:00-9:02) Opening remarks　
-    Manuel Hubert, EU-side Managing Director, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation

16:02-16:50 (9:02-9:50)  Presentations
-    Hiroki Aoki, Director, Battery Industry Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
-    Ewout Deurwaarder, Policy Officer, Sustainable Industrial Policy/Batteries and Ecodesign, Green and Circular Economy Unit, DG GROW, European Commission
-    Goro Naruse, Executive Officer, Battery Association for Supply Chain 
-    TBD, InnoEnergy, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT)

16:50-17:30 (9:50-10:30)  Panel discussion/Q&A session
Moderator: Yasuo Tanabe, Japan-side Managing Director, EU–Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation

• Registration: This webinar will be held on ZOOM. Please click here for registration.
• Questions: Registrants can enter questions in the Questions & Comments section of the registration page.
• It could be difficult to answer all questions due to time constraints. Thank you for understanding.