CICenergiGUNE, the Basque research center of reference in electrochemical energy storage, thermal energy storage and conversion and hydrogen technologies, has closed the year 2023 as one of the main agents of reference in research and technology transfer in the field of energy storage, thanks to new regional and European research projects, as well as more than 40 industrial collaborations with companies and strategic partners of great importance.
In this way, CIC energiGUNE has continued its commitment to both cutting-edge research in the field of energy storage and the generation of technological assets transferable to the business environment. An example of this has been its spin-off ecosystem, composed of BASQUEVOLT and BCARE, which were, last year, highlighted and included by ICEX among the main ´cleantech´ startups in the field of energy.
"We are aware that the achievements derived from the center´s activity are of utmost importance, and the figures achieved this year make us optimistic and proud. All this, without losing sight of our real goal: to contribute to improving the competitiveness of industry in the Basque Country and Europe by generating disruptive science and high-level technological solutions" said Nuria Gisbert, CEO of CIC energiGUNE.
In this sense, in 2023 the center has once again received recognition from the world´s main rankings both for its joint activity - the SCImago ranking places it as the most important research foundation in Europe and Latin America in Energy - and for the work of its team of researchers. It is worth mentioning, at this point, the presence of Michel Armand, honorary scientific director of the electrochemistry area of CIC energiGUNE, as the most important researcher in Spain in the field of Energy according to the "Ranking of World Scientists" of Stanford University and the publishing house Elsevier.
Likewise, during 2023 the Basque center has positioned itself as an agent of reference within the European battery ecosystem. Thus, at the beginning of the year, it brought together in Vitoria-Gasteiz the main leaders of the sector around "BatSum23", the European conference on batteries that highlighted the development of "European proprietary technology", and of which the Basque Country is an example through the aforementioned BASQUEVOLT.
CIC energiGUNE has also been a key player in defining the ecosystem of the future of batteries, highlighting its participation in the creation of the two key "roadmaps" of Batteries Europe and Battery 2030+, essential tools for defining the European battery value chain. Likewise, it was one of the agents convened by ´The International EPD System´, the leading certification body for Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and the development of Product Category Rules (PCR), for the development of the new PCR for electrical and electronic equipment that will be applicable and will determine the future of the battery industry.
High success rate in projects
One of the great achievements of CIC energiGUNE in 2023 has been the achievement of very high success rates in all calls for projects, both at Basque, state and European level. The 100% success rate in the call for "Knowledge Generation Projects" of the State Research Agency stands out in this point. Likewise, the center has achieved a 50% success rate in the European research framework, attracting 12 Basque companies.
In this sense, CIC energiGUNE has continued to have an outstanding participation in the development of European projects that are in different stages of development. At the beginning of the year, the center hosted the launch meeting of the European project MUSIC, which is led from Vitoria-Gasteiz with the aim of promoting a new energy storage technology based on sodium, one of the materials of the moment. In May, the center brought together industrial players and material and battery developers in the capital of Alava to hold the final seminar of the HIGREEW project, which has already made possible the installation of a prototype of an organic redox flow battery, installed at the Siemens Gamesa facilities in Zaragoza.
Other outstanding projects in which CIC energiGUNE participates are HIPERZAB, which aims to develop the first electrically rechargeable zinc-air battery; or HELENA, which aims to develop solid-state batteries for electric aviation. Likewise, CIC energiGUNE´s work has enabled the FullProfAPP software to be completed in 2023, which will revolutionize materials research thanks to its capacity for analysis and data analysis.
