Legislation imposes heavy fines for damage or improper management of cork oaks. For example, it is not permitted to fell cork oaks whose trunk perimeter is less than 70 centimeters (28 inches) and is at 130 centimeters (51 inches) from the ground, with some exceptions, states Decree-Law No. 169/2001, of May 25.
The cork oak, legally protected since the Middle Ages, was crowned Portugal's national tree in this century.
However, in early October, the government declared China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology's proposed lithium-battery manufacturing complex in an industrial zone of Sines, Setúbal District, to be of "essential public utility", making it possible for the company to circumvent the laws and cut down healthy cork oaks.
The public has from October 31 until November 21 to express its opinion on China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology's environmental execution project (RECAPE) for the erection of 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of a double electrical connection of very high-voltage lines through the municipalities of Sines and Santiago do Cacém.
The 400 kV (kilovolt) lines would link the 2 billion-euro lithium-battery industrial complex at the Industrial and Logistics Zone of Sines (ZILS) to the Sines electrical substation.
With essential public utility status, "the government makes the cutting of 410 cork oaks in the project area (7.66 hectares) (19 acres) conditional "on the approval and implementation of the compensation project, as well as compliance with the measures of the environmental impact statement related to deforestation", according to AFIA (Associação de Fabricantes para a Industrial Automóvel ) (October 9).
Before the project begins, China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology will have to present a characterization of the area and the number of trees that will need to be felled for the connection to the Sines substation.
The project has a capacity of 15 GWh (gigawatt-hours), according to the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) in its 44-page document issued on March 7. By comparison, a production capacity of 60 gigawatt-hours would supply batteries for about 1 million electric vehicles, Swedish lithium-battery producer, Northvolt, told CNBC (December 29, 2021).
China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology (CALB) expects to create 1,800 direct jobs, according to Expresso (March 15). Production is planned to begin at the end of 2025.
"The industrial subdivision process and the infrastructure of the lot, where the factory will be located, are currently underway, being the responsibility of AICEP Global Parques -- Management of Business Areas and Services, S.A., the managing entity of ZILS," according to a Portuguese Environmental Agency document, which states that the work will take place on about 45 (111 acres) of approximately 92 (227) hectares.
Earlier this year, in March, the Portuguese Environmental Agency deemed favorable the lithium-battery firm's Environmental Impact Assessment albeit with 92 conditions that the company had to address in its Environmental Compliance Report of the Execution Project (RECAPE). Among the measures was "the minimization of the felling and destruction of cork oaks and holm oaks, whether isolated or in settled areas".
In its RECAPE of August 1, the company said that the corridor approved in the Environmental Impact Assessment had remained the same.
"In this way, the route has not undergone significant changes compared to what was proposed in the previous study. In order to comply with the measures stipulated in the DIA, there have been slight adjustments in the LMAT (Very High-Voltage Line) supports, given the presence of oaks."
In the preliminary study phase, 126 cork oaks had been identified for felling in the areas of the 16 supports of each electrical line, according to The Portugal News (March 18).
According to the Environmental Impact Study, the construction of the five buildings of the complex would affect 5.3 hectares (13 acres) of cork oak forests as well as "a total of 703 specimens of protected trees".
In total, construction of the industrial unit and the Very High-Voltage Lines could require the felling of 829 cork oaks and holm oaks, trees considered protected species, with the company providing "compensation for the felling of cork oaks", according to The Portugal News.
China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology's industrial facility proposal already had been granted the government status of Potential National Interest (PIN). This footing allows for faster and more efficient processing of administrative procedures, according to Turismo de Portugal.
The company's proposal has moved comparatively fast.
It submitted a Scope Definition Proposal (PDA), another way of speeding up the process in preparation for an Environmental Impact Assessment, to the Portuguese Environmental Agency in February 2023. The environmental agency approved its project in March, 13 months later.
Zona Industrial e Logística de Sines (ZILS) is the designated home of China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology’s complex.
The Project
The Scope Definition Proposal (PDA) of China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology’s battery plant stated that there are five stages in manufacturing lithium batteries that would take place in five linked buildings: production of electrodes; cell manufacturing; formation/assembly; packaging, and manufacture of casings.”
In addition to the battery production process, there would be several support infrastructures, including a cooling tower, an oil boiler system for heat transfer, a steam boiler system, a dehumidifier, a hot water system, a gas extraction system and a firefighting control center.
All of the energy used in the factory would be from renewable sources, including solar energy from photovoltaic systems installed on rooftops or by “acquiring it with guarantees of origin by suppliers, either by promoting renewable energy projects in surrounding areas or purchase of energy”.
“It is expected that the industrial unit (would) consume 450,000,000 KWh (kilowatt-hour) annually.”
Who Is China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology?
China made about 75 percent of the world’s lithium batteries in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency, reported E&E News, EnergyWire (January 20). E&E News is owned by Politico.
China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology was the third largest Chinese battery manufacturer for electric cars in 2021, Lusa reported on November 3, 2022, according to the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, an industry association.
In December 2021, China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology announced the signing of an agreement with the German real estate and construction consultant, Drees & Sommer, to plan the first factory in Europe, reported Expresso (November 3, 2022).
Expanded Into 9 Cities in 4 Years
In 2012, located in Jiangsu, China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology expanded industrial distribution, according to its website. In 2018, it restructured itself to focus on the passenger vehicle market.
From 2019 to 2022, the company expanded production facilities into nine other cities in China.
Now, that is fast by any measure.
In 2022, it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Market.
The firm’s website said: “At present, CALB has set up several industrial bases to build industrial clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, Southwest, Central and the Greater Bay Area to achieve a full range of domestic industrial layout, and make overseas industrial layout to become a leading global enterprise!”
The headquarters of CALB USA are in Chino, California.
The headquarters of CALB Europe are in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.
China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology stated in its Scope Definition Proposal:
“The production of lithium batteries will contribute to the global energy transition and for the development of the European value chain of batteries, being essential for the development of the national and European GDP.”
Opposition to Lithium Mining
Where would China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology obtain the lithium?
The mining of lithium, a key element in electric cars, telephones and computers, has been a fraught issue in Portugal, Europe, and North and South America. Some, mostly companies and governments, argue that mining lithium is an environmentally green way forward and others, mostly residents, plead to save their environment, livelihoods and patrimony. Living in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela, which until two years ago had been considered for lithium mining, I side with the latter.
The majority of the world’s lithium is mined in Australia and South America, and more than 97 percent of it is refined in China, reported Inside Climate News (November 7, 2021).
Due to its purported large lithium deposits, Portugal is being touted as a key player in the European Union’s transition to green energy. Currently, the EU is wholly dependent on imported battery-grade lithium in an increasingly competitive global market.
First, you must register if you have not already done so. If you have, go to 8:
1. Click on Registo in the upper right-hand corner;
2. Click on Individuall;
3. Fill in your name, email, password, confirmation of password and, from a dropdown menu, your concelho (municipality);
4. Tick the Agreement with Conditions on the bottom left-hand corner;
5. Click Submeter (Submit) in the bottom right-hand corner;
6. You will receive an email;
7. Choose the issue, “RECAPE -- Interligação Unidade Industrial de Baterias de Lítio á Rede Nacional ge Transporte”;
8. There are three mustard yellow boxes: Participiar (Participate), Seguir (Follow) and Partilhar (Share);
9. Click on the first and choose from a drop-down menu. Click on DISCORDANCIA if you object and CONCORDANCIA if you support it;
10. You may add text;
11. Click on Submeter;
12. Done.
Comments