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Weekly brief

CEE Battery Brief #5: EV battery recall rights, Webasto sale talks, Armenia backs storage

A German court tests EU safety law on recalled EV batteries, Webasto prepares to sell its battery business and Armenia starts subsidising storage finance.

CellsDesk Editorial · · 4 min read

Unbranded electric car on a workshop lift with its battery pack lowered and a red recall tag attached
Illustration: AI-generated for CellsDesk

Regulation and restructuring set the tone of the past few days, from a German court's view on recalled EV batteries to Webasto's plan to sell its battery business. New battery headlines from Central and Eastern Europe were scarce, so this brief focuses on European moves with a bearing on the region and on a new storage subsidy in Armenia.

Policy: EU safety law meets the EV battery recall

A regional court in Offenburg has indicated that the EU Product Safety Regulation (2023/988) could give buyers of electric cars with recalled batteries a way to return them.1 The case concerns a Cupra Born covered by a recall of potentially faulty battery modules that affects about 100,000 Volkswagen Group EVs, and the order is only a preliminary assessment; the defendants have until 6 November to respond.1 Under Article 37, companies must normally offer at least two of repair, replacement or a refund.1

Because the regulation applies across the EU, the outcome could interest EV owners and dealers in CEE markets too, although rescission is most likely where a defect cannot be fixed in reasonable time.1

Supply chain: Webasto sale talks and a Spanish anode plant

Webasto's chief executive says the company is in advanced negotiations with two strategic investors over its high-voltage battery business, with a deal possible later this year.2 The division made about €300m in revenue in 2025, is still loss-making and builds packs in Schierling, Germany, and Dangjin, South Korea, with Hyundai-Kia as anchor customer.2 Webasto says it does not need to make distress sales.2

Silicon-carbon anode maker Group14 picked Sagunt in Spain for a module with an initial 10 GWh capacity, backed by €150m from an unnamed investor; no start-up date was given.3

Storage: tolls, financing and a fund for sale

Uniper will market a planned 20 MW / 42 MWh battery in Roßfeld, Germany, for Stadtwerke Lippstadt under a seven-year tolling agreement, with operation scheduled for summer 2027.4 In Spain, three standalone projects by Return Energy totalling 55 MW / 220 MWh secured €50m in financing.5 For CEE developers, deals like these offer a reference point for how long-term contracted revenues are being structured in Western Europe.

In the UK, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund launched a formal sales process, and its share price rose 10%.6

Policy beyond the EU: Armenia subsidises storage finance

Armenia now offers businesses interest-rate subsidies of 6–10 percentage points on loans and leases for battery storage, for up to seven years, provided the batteries store only solar power.7 The country amended its Energy Law in May to allow storage development, and solar supplied 16.3% of its electricity generation last year.7

Recycling: Zwickau starts taking cars apart

Volkswagen opened its first industrial dismantling line in Zwickau, designed for 4,100 vehicles a year in two shifts from 2027 and 15,000 by 2030, with more than €100m invested.8 The line follows the EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation, which entered into force on 13 August 2026; the announcement does not detail battery handling.8

What to watch: how the Offenburg court rules once the defendants have responded after 6 November.1

Dates for your diary

  • 4–5 Nov · Hungarian Battery Days, Debrecen
  • 4–5 Nov · International Battery Production Conference, Braunschweig
  • 11–12 Nov · Battery Innovation Days, Stockholm
  • 16–18 Nov · Batteries Event, Lyon
  • All upcoming events →

Sources

  1. OEMs may have to take back EVs with faulty batteries – electrive, 30 Oct 2026 ↩↩↩↩↩

  2. Webasto poised to sell its battery systems business – electrive, 2 Nov 2026 ↩↩↩

  3. Group14 to build battery material factory in Sagunt – electrive, 30 Oct 2026 ↩

  4. Uniper signs seven-year tolling deal for 42 MWh battery in Germany – ESS News, 2 Nov 2026 ↩

  5. Spanish BESS projects reach financial close with 220 MWh – ESS News, 2 Nov 2026 ↩

  6. NEWSFLASH: Gresham House Energy Storage Fund launches sales process – Energy-Storage.news, 2 Nov 2026 ↩

  7. Armenia introduces interest rate subsidies for storage systems – ESS News, 2 Nov 2026 ↩↩

  8. Volkswagen opens first industrial dismantling line as part of circular economy strategy – Automotive Logistics, 29 Oct 2026 ↩↩