SPRICE has been a very novel engineering project involving multidisciplinary aspects of clean tech and social innovation beyond the current state-of-the-art for commercial primary battery technology. The project presented a revolutionary paradigm change in the way primary batteries are made and used. Instead of conventional off-the-shelf solutions that are a major source of electronic waste, SPRICE presented the eco-design of batteries for sustainability and demonstrated a planar organic battery developed for intelligent packaging application on cardboard boxes. This battery concept was never conceived before which confirms the novelty of the concept, the enhanced innovation capacity and warranted the intellectual property protection. The project presented innovative aspects in sustainable design along the entire established cardboard box value chain from manufacturing to end-of-life recyclability. The cell components materials were selected and manufactured from benign, non-toxic, and abundant materials with a low-energy manufacturing process, addressing various industrial, societal and environmental issues of current commercial primary batteries such as resources depletion and environmental footprint. The project has expanded the host institute technological capabilities and provided an opportunity to study and unleash new market segments. Overall, the project was well aligned with EU policies such as the electronic waste directive, the battery directive, the EU Green Deal and the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, which recommended designing sustainable products and phasing out single-use batteries for sustainable alternatives. Therefore, the novel concept has helped further expand the EU leadership and competitiveness in sustainable development areas and strengthen research and innovation capacity.
