Novel approaches towards next-generation battery concepts, leveraging the enabling role of innovative advanced materials (BATT4EU and IAM4EU Partnerships)

Expected Outcome:

Proposals are expected to contribute to the generation of innovative battery concepts to safeguard future European competitiveness through innovative battery advanced materials and technologies contributing to green energy usage through enhanced energy storage and management capabilities. Depending on the areas listed in the scope, proposals are expected to cover all the respective bullet points: Area A: Development and validation of low-cost battery chemistries particularly suited for electric mobility supporting a reliable and flexible energy flow to meet fluctuating demand by enabling better integration of diverse energy sources:

• Proposals are expected to provide the state-of-the-art benchmark for the performance of Design-to-Performance lithium-ion batteries [1] and sodium-ion batteries and compare the project’s improvements of performance targets to said benchmark.
• Main component (active and main inactive materials) cost of below €35 per kWh

OR Area B: Development of high-performance battery, particularly suited for aviation and high-performance mobility boosting green energy adoption by leveraging advanced energy carriers and storage solutions to support demanding applications:

• Validation of advanced battery concepts achieving energy density exceeding 500 Wh/kg and/or Power density exceeding the state-of-the-art benchmark based on the selected application(s).

OR Area C: Development of durable and reliable battery advanced materials and cell-level concepts specifically suited to stationary storage for either grid and/or energy-intensive industry applications.

Scope:

Projects are expected to contribute to one of the following battery concepts that meet different end-user needs and applications, going beyond state-of-the-art:

Area A: Low-cost batteries designed primarily for passenger electric vehicles and/or stationary storage:

• Development of battery chemistries utilizing minimised amount of Critical Raw Materials
• Cost reduction through use of smart functionalities, as well as lightweight, functionalised and/or simplified casing or cooling concepts etc is encouraged.

OR Area B: High-performance battery chemistries intended for applications requiring superior energy density, power density, and safety standards, such as aviation and maritime sectors:

• Innovative approaches to battery structural integration and multifunctional materials to significantly boost gravimetric and volumetric performance.

OR Area C: Novel battery advanced materials and cell-level concepts, for stationary energy storage for grid storage and/or energy-intensive industrial applications:

• If applied for grid storage, solutions should demonstrate potential for cost-effective integration at system level (targeting system-level cost below €50/kWh) and provide support for multi-hour storage durations to enhance renewable energy uptake and grid flexibility.
• If applied for energy-intensive industrial applications, battery materials and designs should address continuous high-load operation, cycling under harsh conditions, and reliability over long operational periods, contributing to the electrification and decarbonisation of specific industrial processes under study.

All projects are expected to provide an assessment on all following aspects:

• Scalability potential, manufacturability, and market relevance.
• Solutions for extended cycle life, cost-efficient recyclability, and sustainability by design (implementing Safe and Sustainable by Design principles)
• Solutions for enhanced safety, thermal management, performance monitoring, and predictive diagnostics.

The Safe and Sustainable by Design [2] (SSbD) framework should be considered as a reference for project proposals to guide the innovation process towards safer and more sustainable chemicals and advanced materials. Proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) [3] whose contribution could consist of performing experimental or desk-top research on battery performance or safety. For further information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the projects, please, search for additional publicly available information on the JRC’s website [4] (EU Science Hub) on the NCP portal, or request specific information from the JRC ([contact details removed]) JRC will assure that all the other applicants receive the same information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the project (e.g., via the topic-specific FAQs under the Funding and Tenders Portal). This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) and the co-programmed Partnership Innovative Advanced Materials for the EU (IAM4EU). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) and IAM4EUin support of the monitoring of its KPIs. This topic contributes to the industrial action plan for the automotive sector. null Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.

[1] https: //bepassociation.eu/our-work/sria/

[2] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/chemicals-and-advanced-materials_en

[3] https: //joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/laboratories-z/battery-energy-storage-testing_en

[4] JRC NCP | Horizon Europe NCP Portal

Type of action: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

Programme period: 2021 - 2027

Priorities: PART-COPROGR, DigitalAgenda, AI

"> General conditions

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout

Applicants submitting a proposal for a blind evaluation (see General Annex F) must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos nor names of personnel in the proposal abstract and Part B of their first-stage application (see General Annex E).

described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide .

3. Other Eligible Conditions

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner. The JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal - see General Annex B.

If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and