Press releases

Sustainable and high-quality conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries are one of the keys to e-mobility in Europe. In view of the increasing demand for rechargeable batteries due to the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energies, the development of innovative and environmentally friendly materials is of central importance. The HiQ-CARB joint project, funded by the European Union/EIT RawMaterials, has taken a major step forward in this key technology for reducing CO2 emissions over the last four years.

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) are considered the next generation of batteries com-pared to conventional Li-ion batteries. Despite significant research efforts, very few SSBs are market-ready. In recent years, various promising materials have been introduced, but one of the main challenges persists: the combination of these materials into a stable cell. The project consortium of FUNCY-SSB (pro-nounced "funky-ssb") with partners from Germany, Slovenia, and Norway aims to change this over the next three years.

After approximately three years, the battery project IDcycLIB, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with around 7 million euros, has successfully concluded in December 2024. During the final project meeting at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg, the outstanding results of the project were presented.

The HiQ-LCA project, funded by EIT RawMaterials and co-funded by the EU, supports the battery industry in complying with the EU Battery Regulation by offering various tools and services, including an advanced Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) database to be developed as a satellite database of the renowned ecoinvent database. To foster collaboration and encourage data contribution, project partner ecoinvent successfully organized industry workshops in 2023 and 2024, bringing together stakeholders to address key challenges and promote transparency. By contributing data, industry leaders gain access to peer-reviewed LCAs, compliance support, and an enhanced role in advancing sustainable battery production.

Without lithium-ion batteries, environmentally friendly mobility and a sustain-able energy supply would be virtually inconceivable. However, the increasing demand for batteries and the associated raw materials poses major challenges. The REWIND project aims to overcome important obstacles on the way to an efficient and ecologically sustainable circular economy. REWIND is part of the BattFutur program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The ReUse project, short for "Efficient direct recycling for low-value LFP battery for circular and sustainable waste management," is a 36-month research initia-tive. It is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innova-tion program, operating under Grant Agreement No. 101137774, with a substan-tial EU contribution amounting to €4,927,664.93 in funding. The project com-menced in January 2024.

For the future decrease of carbon footprints in electromobility, the production of traction batteries has to become “greener”. In improving the electronic conductivity of battery cathodes carbon plays a critical role and thus is essential to achieve fast charging and discharging rates. The HiQ-CARB project, funded by EIT RawMaterials under the Horizon Europe Program started in 2021 to make the supply with high-quality conductive additives more sustainable, with low carbon footprint and resource-efficient carbon materials. The results after the first half of the project leave no doubt that a switch to more sustainable manufacturing methods is possible.

Electromobility continues to gain momentum. Accelerated by high fuel prices, more and more buyers are switching to hybrid or pure electric vehicles, as shown by the latest statistics of new registrations. As the number of traction batteries increases, the question of environmentally friendly manufacturing and recycling processes is also becoming louder. One key aspect is the function-preserving recycling of lithium-ion batteries. The "RecyLIB" project launched in 2022 - funded via ERA-MIN by the European Union and national funding organizations - aims to set an example with new processes for battery electrode production, direct recycling and integrated functional material cycles.

The SPARTACUS research project as part of the EU research initiative BATTERY 2030+ has now been running for around a year. The project has successfully mastered the first milestones and project goals. On the way to sensor-based optimization of charging times, range and service life for lithium-ion batteries, the SPARTACUS project team has worked on a number of partial aspects over the past 12 months. Now the individual components can be combined into a complete system.

Technological sovereignty and job security in Germany, the sustainable rethinking and redirection in the use of raw materials - the most efficient possible use and resource-conserving utilization concepts - are major challenges facing the industrial sectors in Europe and worldwide. In particular, the shift away from fossil-fueled mobility to sustainable electromobility based on renewable energy sources has intensified the discussion about the resource requirements for the batteries needed for this. This is precisely where the IDcycLIB joint project comes in with forward-looking concepts.