Heiwit in Brussels, at the table on the future of the European battery

On 11 June 2026, Heiwit took part in the European Economic and Social Committee's debate on the future of the European battery industry. It was a day that addressed competitiveness, energy, and people — and the role that ’made in Europe“ sodium can play in the continent's industrial sovereignty.

A day that matters

There comes a time when a company stops being simply an actor in the market and becomes part of a larger conversation. For Heiwit, that time arrived on 11 June 2026, in Brussels, at the table of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in the debate “The Future of the European Battery Industry”.

The CEO of Heiwit has been invited to sit on the panel. “From Strategy to Scale” — “from strategy to scale” — alongside other industry leaders, to answer a question that is far from simple: how does Europe transform its battery ambitions into genuine industrial leadership, and how will it do so in the next two or three years?

For a young Italian company that designs and manufactures sodium-ion battery storage systems, being asked to lend their voice in that forum is not a minor detail. It is a signal that the European energy transition is not solely being decided in the large automotive gigafactories, but also – and perhaps more importantly – in the choices of those who build products designed for the homes and businesses of the continent.

The right moment, the right question

The debate has arrived at a particular week. A few days earlier, the European Commission had formally launched the Battery Booster Facilityup to €1.5 billion in zero-interest loans to support European cell manufacturers in the delicate start-up phase of production, plus €300 million dedicated to critical raw materials. An important move, which complements the Industrial Accelerator Act and the first requests for “Made in Europe” components in public procurement.

The context, after all, speaks for itself: over 80% of global battery production capacity is currently concentrated in China, and in 2024 Europe spent tens of billions of euros on batteries, the vast majority of which were imported. Furthermore, over the last eighteen months, the continent has seen hundreds of gigawatt-hours of planned production capacity evaporate, due to postponed projects and weaker-than-expected demand for electric cars.

The new European measures are primarily intended for large cell factories destined for electric cars – plants of at least 10 GWh, often the “first factory” for a few large groups. And it is precisely here that the Brussels debate has posed the most interesting question, also raised by the moderator: should the European strategy look beyond the electric car, and should it make room for alternative chemistries like sodium. Two themes that, for Heiwit, sound like home.

“The most urgent action? People”

When asked what the most urgent action Europe needs to take, Heiwit surprised the audience with a far from technical answer.

“The problems we usually mention - capital, raw materials, supply chains - are important, but solvable. Europe will find the money, and it will build the supply chains. The thing that worries me most, and on which almost no one is acting, is people.”

The point is simple and profound: we can build the most automated battery factory in Europe, but we still need a generation that desire working in advanced manufacturing. And for twenty years young people have been told that the goal was office work—precisely the kind of work that artificial intelligence will be the first to absorb. The work that won't disappear is that which builds and maintains real things: plants, factories, batteries. Making industrial work desirable again, through training and apprenticeships, is perhaps the most urgent challenge for the coming years. “If we tackle it well,” he added, “an approaching problem becomes our greatest competitive advantage. If we get it wrong, we'll end up with gigafactories and no one to run them.”

Producing in Europe is more worthwhile than you might think

Heiwit's second message dismantled a common misconception: the idea that producing in Europe is inevitably too expensive.

“In our factories, a finished battery costs us about 10% more than it does in China. It’s not a huge difference. And above all: that 10% isn’t in the cell.”

Heiwit is a system integrator, not a cell manufacturer. The cell, for us, is a commodity: we buy it at the global market price and build the battery, electronics, and software around it. This means the cost gap is not in the cell – which costs more or less the same everywhere – but in energy, labour, and capital. Three areas where Europe can truly intervene. The cost of labour, for example, is increasingly less significant: Chinese industrial wages have roughly tripled in ten years and continue to rise, while in Europe they have remained stagnant; and automation, in which the continent excels, further reduces that component.

From here, the concrete conditions indicated by Heiwit. The first: a genuine European manufacturer of cells – because the day it exists, integrators like Heiwit will be ready to purchase its entire production, guaranteeing the demand that makes a plant fundable. The second: accessible and stable energy. The third: public support for the initial production lines, until volumes make them profitable.

Stable energy and rules: the investor's perspective

The third question concerned a topic that Heiwit knows well from the capital-raising side too: how important are energy prices and the predictability of regulations for investors?

“Investors don't need the cheapest country. They need a stable country. With known energy costs and known rules, you can build a ten-year plan. With rules that change every eighteen months, you cannot.”

Electricity is a real component of cell production costs: today, European industry pays approximately two and a half times more for electricity than China, a gap that narrows for large energy-intensive consumers but does not disappear. However, as Heiwit explained, the real obstacle is uncertainty: every time the rules change, investors translate this into risk, the cost of money rises, and a project that should be starting is halted. This is a point on which a large part of European industry agrees: one-off measures, however welcome, are not enough; stable, multi-year support is needed. Heiwit's request is simple – clear and lasting rules on energy and incentives – because they are worth more than any isolated contribution: they make money cheaper for everyone who chooses to build here.

Sodium, a European choice

Behind these positions lies a precise product vision. Heiwit has developed the first certified residential sodium-ion battery in Europe (CE and TÜV SÜD), designed and assembled in Italy. This technology, unlike lithium, uses neither lithium nor cobalt, is not subject to thermal runaway phenomena, works well even in the cold, is highly recyclable, and can be transported and stored in complete safety, even at zero voltage.

It is also an evolving technology. After the initial layered oxide cells, Heiwit is working with polyanionic cells: slightly heavier and with a slightly lower energy density, but decidedly safer and longer-lasting. For a battery that lives on a wall, and not inside a car, it is the right compromise – confirmation that Europe does not necessarily have to win on the ’densest“ cell, but can win with the right cell for each application. Completing the system is the intelligent management software. AI Care, which optimises self-consumption and system monitoring.

Ultimately, sodium is also the most “European” chemistry possible: abundant materials, no dependence on lithium and cobalt supply chains, and a sector that the continent can truly control. This is why it represents not just an alternative, but a concrete starting point for European industrial sovereignty.

What are we bringing home from Brussels

Heiwit emerged from the debate with a strengthened conviction: Europe can build its own battery industry, and sodium is the right place to start. But three things are needed in tandem — competitive energy, stable regulations and, yes, people who choose to work in manufacturing. Much of that famous 10% gap does not lie in the technology: it lies in the hands of European policymakers.

For a young company from Varese, sitting at that table was an honour and a responsibility. And a reminder of why we do this job: to prove, every day, that it is possible to produce a safe, sustainable, and truly made-in-Italy battery in Europe — and that the future of energy storage can also speak our language.