CIC energiGUNE, the Basque research center of reference in battery storage, thermal energy solutions, and hydrogen, and member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance-BRTA, has celebrated today a webinar, within the framework of the European project IMAGE, in order to promote the development of solid-state batteries. Under the title "Solid-state batteries, manufacturing the future", the Basque center has gathered today renowned experts of the sector to analyze from the field of materials to the automotive and stationary applications, without forgetting other relevant industries and market tendencies. More than 300 professionals from all around the world, fundamentally from research centers and the automotive industry, have attended the virtual event.
Kristina Edström, professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Uppsala University and coordinator of the initiative Battery 2030Plus; and professor Michel Armand, scientific advisor from CIC energiGUNE and “father” of solid-state batteries with polymeric electrolyte, have been two of the speakers that have participated in the webinar, accompanied by other experts on the matter, such as Roberto Pacios, technology coordinator at the electrochemical storage area in CIC energiGUNE and Steven J. Visco, director of the PolyPlus Battery Company.
“This is the moment to give solid-state batteries the definitive push”, has expressed Nuria Gisbert, General Manager at CIC energiGUNE. “If we achieve to position the European ecosystem at the forefront of this technology, we will have closed a very important part of the gap that still separates us from other markets in the field of electric mobility. That is why the implication of all the agents in the development of the solid-state battery is important”, she has concluded.
IMAGE Project
This event is part of the activities of CIC energiGUNE within the European project IMAGE (Innovative manufacturing routes for next-generation batteries in Europe, GA 769929) which has as an objective to contribute to the sustainable development of the competence and manufacturing capacity of European lithium battery cells through the creation of a competitive manufacturing. Financed by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 program, it seeks to develop a technology that will allow to manufacture solid-state batteries in Europe to substitute the current lithium ones based on liquid electrolyte.
The IMAGE project has in its horizon the promotion of the European industry of the lithium batteries of the future and its positioning as a driving agent in the development and manufacturing of advanced materials and in the next-generation Li-ion cells. In this sense, IMAGE centers around lithium as an anode, combining it with solid concepts and studying its assembly and manufacturing possibilities. This way, the resulting cell designs will allow advancing towards high energetic density batteries with better technical performance and a better security control.
The work carried out in the IMAGE project will allow, ultimately, to deal with the specifications and requirements of the Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and energy storage (BESS), which will translate into the obtaining of prototypes oriented toward industrial production. In fact, it is expected that the work will pave the way towards lower costs and an increase of the specific energy over 300 Wh/kg.
The project, started in November 2017, will end next October after 4 years of intense scientific activity and a budget of 4.9 million euros. The consortium, coordinated by AVL, is formed by 13 distinguished entities: CIC energiGUNE, VUB, BMW Group, VARTA Microbattery, UMICORE, ARKEMA France, Hydro-Quebec, CIDETEC Energy Storage, RWTH Aachen, TU Graz, VARTA Storage and MANZ Italy.
