The key achievements of the LiPLANET project include agreed requirements for pilot lines to join the network, defined legal framework, round-robin protocol, and a strategic roadmap towards the vision for the Network in 2030.
The LiPLANET project consortium agreed on a three-level definition of a pilot line, which makes up the minimal requirement to join the LiPLANET network. This definition includes the covered range of battery production steps and the level of automatization, and was the basis for a questionnaire distributed to the known potential pilot lines. Within the project, 23 European pilot lines fulfilled the criteria and were therefore identified and mapped as such. The pilot lines that completed the questionnaire, but did not meet all requirements at this time (some of which have plans to extend their facilities in the upcoming years), will be kept in contact and, if needed, supported in their efforts.
The legal framework has been defined and a set of six legal documents have been created for the context of the LiPLANET network. The first document defines the terms and conditions, which describes the purpose, the structure with the different bodies and the member’s rights and obligations. The second document is the association statute, which covers the same aspects as the terms and conditions, only with less administrative details. The chosen legal framework for the network is a German non-profit association. The third document is the mapping questionnaire, as described above. This document is the go-to document to check whether a pilot line is eligible to join the network. The fourth document is a declaration of adherence, which must be signed to show that a member adheres to the terms and conditions. The remaining two documents are templates that members can use if they want to exchange information (using the non-disclosure agreement) or material (using the material transfer agreement).
In order to test the capabilities of the five pilot lines in the project consortium to produce high quality cells, a round robin test was conducted. For this, the consortium agreed on a state-of-the-art cell chemistry. Each of the pilot lines within the network produced a set of cells of this cell chemistry, conducted cell tests using pre-defined testing parameters and tolerances. The tests were successfully conducted and validated across the 5 pilot lines. The round-robin protocol will be used to ensure a minimal quality is met across pilot lines within the Network.
The project consortium has also developed a strategic roadmap for the LiPLANET network. This roadmap describes what is needed for the pilot lines to reinforce the position of the European Union (EU) in the Lithium battery cell manufacturing market until 2030 and beyond. Workshops were held to define the vision for the network in 2030, clarify and define the status quo, identify the knowledge and skill gaps, as well as the obstacles and gaps, and finally define the necessary actions and corresponding milestones to achieve the vision. The roadmap is published and available for download on the LiPLANET website (www.liplanet.eu).
The project used social media platforms (LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/liplanet Twitter – @LiPlanetH2020, and YouTube) to bring information to the general public and interested stakeholders. These social media platforms will continue to be used for the LiPLANET network. A newsletter is also published on the website (liplanet.eu) and directly emailed to subscribers. Furthermore, policy briefs were developed within the project and will be disseminated to key stakeholders in the battery industry. Training videos and workshops were also developed and conducted throughout the project and published on YouTube.
