During the second reporting period (Month 19–38), the HEDAsupercap consortium held 3 hybrid General Assembly (GA) meetings: September 2024 at VITO (Belgium) and in March 2025 and February 2026 both at INL in Portugal. A GA planned for nov 2025 was postponed and merged with the Review Meeting in February 2026; this will be reported in the next period. At the March 2025 GA, discussions centred on the transition between WP3 and WP4, as WP3 had faced significant delays caused by major team changes early in the project and various technical challenges. Although all device components had been developed and tested during the first reporting period, the fully assembled device—combining anode, cathode and project‑developed electrolytes—was not functional. Several mitigation options were discussed, and the Project Coordinator prepared a revised implementation schedule, agreed internally and presented in June 2025 to the new Project Officer, Jérôme Benausse, who took over responsibilities from Mary Halleart and Nerea Bilbao Bustinza.
A preliminary version of this report was submitted prior to the Review Meeting held on 10 February 2026 at INL, followed by a GA on 11 February to consolidate the adjustments requested by the Expert Reviewer and the PO. This report incorporates all recommended improvements. One major requirement was updating the project timeline, including a revised Gantt Chart, supporting the consortium’s intention to request a 12‑month extension. This extension is planned to be submitted as an amendment after the validation of this report. The extended timeline aims to compensate for setbacks in WP3 and the subsequent delays affecting all dependent activities in WP4 and WP5. These delays particularly impacted the development of the novel supercapacitor components, reducing the time available to complete WP4 Prototyping Supercapacitor Cells and WP5 Supercap Modules and Management Systems. The extension also ensures sufficient time for partners to complete tasks and produce meaningful results for both use cases (hand‑warming glove and e‑scooter). To reinforce progress monitoring, two additional milestones were introduced to verify the minimum viable products for each application at the originally planned end date (Month 48).
WP4, led by YUN, began in Month 19 with Task 4.2 where partners coordinated by CRF defined the optimal supercapacitor embodiments for each application. Task 4.1 dedicated to upscaling electrode and electrolyte materials, could not begin as planned because WP3 materials did not perform as expected when assembled into full devices. Activities will be adjusted to incorporate the newly selected WP3 materials, whose optimisation will continue within WP4. Upscaling of nanoporous carbons is being explored through several routes, while nanostructured current collectors have successfully progressed from 1 cm² to over 10 cm², enabling systematic testing. Task 4.3 prototype development advanced at two different speeds: coin‑cell prototypes for the “mini” supercapacitor progressed steadily, while the pouch‑cell hybrid Li‑ion supercapacitor requires more extensive optimisation. In Task 4.4 the modelling approach was revised from a three‑dimensional electrochemical FEM model to a reduced‑dimensional, semi‑empirical equivalent circuit model (ECM) to increase synergies with WP5. WP4 accumulated an estimated delay of 12 months, which directly affected WP5.
WP5, led by CRF, officially started in Month 13, with preparatory work for Task 5.3 beginning earlier in Month 6 to anticipate risks related to component availability. As a result, the supercapacitor management system for the e‑scooter demonstrator is ready ahead of schedule. Tasks 5.1 and 5.2 originally expected to start in Month 30, began in Month 36 due to strong dependencies on WP3 and WP4 progress. Task 5.4 is delayed and expected to begin around Month 39.
WP6, coordinated by RINA, continued as planned. Task 6.1 is performing environmental, economic and social assessments (LCA, LCC, LCE, S‑LCA). Task 6.2 delivered a comprehensive market analysis and developed business models for the deployment of the project’s technologies. Task 6.3 developed the techno‑economic roadmap towards TRL9, characterising the technical and economic configuration of value creation.
WP7, led by INL’s Communication, Conferences and Marketing Unit, continued its communication and dissemination activities, including participation in clustering initiatives with other EU‑funded projects. Within Task 7.4 work is ongoing to gather missing inputs required to complete the characterisation of Key Exploitable Results, including updated KER tables, BFMULO analysis and SWOT matrices.
