The automotive industry is undergoing a rapid change as powertrains are electrified. This Policy Brief is based on a granular mapping of the global battery supply value chain. Batteries are a central component of electric vehicles and considered a strategically important technology by the EU. This Policy Brief informs policy makers and suggests some levers to improve the competitiveness of Austrian firms. The analysis draws on a survey of the literature, a global mapping of battery supply chains by ASCII, and a series of focus group discussions with industry partners in Austria. The mapping reveals that over 190 countries are engaged in more than 32,000 trade relationships within the supply chain. However, the supply chain is highly concentrated:

• Eight lithium mining companies in the US, Chile, China, and Australia control over 95% of the global market share.

• Ten battery cell and pack manufacturers in China, South Korea, and Japan account for over 93% of the global market.

Notably, EU companies are widely absent from this landscape. Extensive subsidies in China, the dominant production location, have resulted in significant overcapacity. China has more than twice the installed capacity needed to meet global demand in 2024, and Chinese producers also lead in state-of-the-art technology. In contrast, Austrian companies, operating in a small open economy, tend to be highly specialized downstream niche players. They rely on imported cells and batteries as intermediate products.