Central Europe ranks under the EU average in the market penetration of electric vehicles. But it doesn’t want to be left behind by the global trend, leaping into battery production and dreaming even bigger.

Slovakia struggles to be on top of the changes the automotive sector is undergoing, including the green and digital transformation. While Slovakia scores in car production output, in innovation it lacks behind its Visegrad neighbours.

Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles have become one of the specialties of Polish exports. They mainly go to other EU member states. But in order to maintain the position of the EU leader and, at the same time, successfully compete with Asian producers, Poland must not only further develop its production capacity, but also produce lithium-ion batteries with a lower carbon footprint.