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Strengthening EU materials technologies for non-automotive battery storage (RIA)

 

Proposals should cover the following:

  • Develop more price competitive, better performant and highly safe battery storage solutions, with improved lifetime by lowering the cost and capital expenditure through development of less expensive and more performant materials (e.g. novel advanced electrode materials, including nanostructured and 2D materials and electrolytes), chemistries, packaging and cell design and battery component production processes. The progress should make use of the advantages of the existing EU value chain. Synergies with the electrified vehicle battery production sector could be explored;
  • Duly consider safety aspects depending on the application, e.g. by consideration of polymer or solid electrolytes for solid-state batteries;
  • Sustainable materials and environmental friendly production processes, possible second life applications, and materials that are easily available in Europe, in order to avoid market dependence. Recycling should be inherently possible on a large scale, permitting overall costs that will not hamper market acceptance;
  • The new solution and respective output targets (such as cyclability, reliability, usage and lifetime) should be demonstrated and tested where possible in a relevant industrial environment; and developments in the European regulatory framework as well as the impact on industrial standards should be considered;
  • To allow comparison with currently existing solutions, a full life cycle assessment covering environmental and economic aspects of the proposed alternatives should be included.

Activities should start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 at the end of the project.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU between EUR 6 and 8 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Driven by the needs for a cleaner environment and the transition towards a low-carbon competitive economy, deployment of solar and wind energy increases. The respective energy supply will be much more decentralised, resulting in enhanced needs for deployment of large to small scale industrial electricity grids, and in an increased share of electricity produced in private households. Also industry 4.0 with its new less centralised production methods will need a more delocalised energy supply. And more and more small robotised devices dedicated for industry or private households appear on the market that need energy. For all these new technologies and markets, the respective energy storage challenges have to be solved. This can be done by specific batteries, and Europe has to use its knowledge and competitive advantage in advanced materials and nanotechnologies to strengthen the related battery storage value chain and prepare European industry to be competitive in these new markets.

The performance levels of the proposed solution(s) should be in line with those specified in the relevant parts of the SET-Plan.[[Action 7 of the SET Plan on ""Batteries for e-mobility and stationary storage"",
see: https://setis.ec.europa.eu/system/files/integrated_set-plan/action7_issues_paper.pdf]] The new developments should respond to all of the following requirements:

  • Enhanced market success of the new more competitive and sustainable technologies, obtained by strong reduction of the cost for stationary applications, below 0.05 €/kWh/cycle; the reduction of cost should be at least 20% in all other cases;
  • More competitive products due to increased life time, with a cycle life for stationary energy storage applications that should be clearly beyond the current standards, and reach at least 5000 cycles at 80% Depth of Discharge; and it should be significantly improved with respect to the state-of-the-art in all other cases;
  • More sustainable products, with a recycling efficiency beyond currently legal obligations, as established in the Batteries Directive,[[Batteries Directive, EC/2006/66,

    http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02006L0066-20131230&qid=1420631813560&from=EN]] ideally beyond 50%, and a demonstrated economic viability.

Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.