Sustainable high-throughput production processes for stable lithium metal anodes for next generation batteries (Batt4EU Partnership)
Scope and expected outcomes
ExpectedOutcome:
As Li metal anodes will be needed for the Gen 4b, Gen 4c and Gen 5 batteries, it is important to create a European production chain for their manufacturing, in order to guarantee secure supply chains for the next generation battery producers with a focus on high performance and recyclability for Gen 4b, Gen4c or Gen5 cells.
The proposed project is expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
Reduction of strategic dependencies for critical raw materials by promoting resource efficiency.
Energy consumption/carbon footprint of processing 10% lower than SoA.
Throughput of Li foil and/or electrode production to support cell manufacturing, including a technical pathway towards production at MWh/(sub-)GWh scale.
Ensure stability of Li during handling, processing and operation using coatings or other protective technologies (e.g. barriers/protective layers).
Processing of Li (Metal) and Li electrodes within cell assembly at industrial scale, including, but not limited to, high-quality cutting of the Li foil and/or electrode.
Homogeneous Li films with thickness below 20µm, contributing towards energy density levels of 400-500 Wh/kg.
The developed process should be compatible with recycling targets (with respect to purification of scrap with protective coating) and assure recyclability to more than 70% of Li metal in battery waste, (90% Li metal for production scrap).
The proposed project is encouraged to contribute to a competitive price of 75€/kWh at pack level.
A demonstration of the performance of Li at cell level in SoA benchmark cell (at least TRL5 with at least 1 Ah capacity). Validation in Generation 4b, 4c and/or Generation 5 cells is highly encouraged.
Scope:
Proposals under this topic are expected to cover all of the following bullet points:
Sustainable, cost-efficient and large-scale production of Li-metal foils and/ or electrodes, demonstrated up to pilot level during the project. Activities can include, but are not limited to, extrusion, comparison extrusion / electrostatic spray, rolling and co-rolling. However, extensive cell design and development are out of the scope as this topic focuses on the Li anode production.
Control of the passivation of Li metal films, and to understand how the passivation is linked with the dry room conditions and requirements. The goal is to find the optimal way: high passivation and lower quality dry room, or low passivation and higher quality dry room, and how these selections are linked with cost, energy consumption and performance of the cells.
The project is expected to also guarantee safety of the Li film production and handling, which has to be demonstrated in a process that is compatible for large scale production.
Plans for the exploitation and dissemination of results for proposals submitted under this topic should include a strong business case and sound exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. The exploitation plans should include preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan).
Collaboration with other projects from calls HORIZON-CL5-2023-02-01 Advanced materials and cells development enabling large-scale production of Gen4 solid-state batteries for mobility applications and/or HORIZON-CL5-2024-02-02 Post-Li-ion technologies and relevant manufacturing techniques for mobility applications (Generation 5) is expected.
The project is encouraged to cooperate with projects stemming from call topic HORIZON-CL5-2023-01-01 Technologies for sustainable, low carbon and cost-efficient downstream processing and production of battery-grade materials.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.
Specific Topic Conditions:
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Destination
Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition (2023/24)
This Destination covers thematic areas which are cross-cutting by nature and can provide key solutions for climate, energy and mobility applications. In line with the scope of cluster 5 such areas are batteries, hydrogen[[ The bulk of activities are supported by the Institutional Partnership ‘Clean Hydrogen’.]], communities and cities[[ Communities and cities are mainly supported under the Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, and through the co-funded Partnership ‘Driving Urban Transition’, implemented in this work programme as a grant to identified beneficiary.]], early-stage breakthrough technologies as well as citizen engagement[[ Citizens engagement as well as social sciences and humanities are mainstreamed across multiple topics across various Destinations in this work programme.]]. Although these areas are very distinct in terms of challenges, stakeholder communities and expected impacts, they have their cross-cutting nature as a unifying feature and are therefore grouped, if not addressed in other places of this work programme, under this Destination.
This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations (KSO):
C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems;
A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy[[ ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’, as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.]] by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations;
D: Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society, prepared and responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing high-quality health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital transitions.
It covers the following impact areas:
Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people
Affordable and clean energy
Smart and sustainable transport
The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute to the “Clean and sustainable transition of the energy and transport sectors towards climate neutrality facilitated by innovative cross-cutting solutions”, notably through:
Nurturing a world-class European research and innovation eco-system on batteries along the value chain based on sustainable pathways. It includes improvement of technological performance to increase application user attractiveness (in particular in terms of safety, cost, user convenience, fast charging and environmental footprint), in parallel supporting the creation of a competitive, circular, and sustainable European battery manufacturing value chain (more detailed information below).
Nurturing the development of emerging technologies with high potential to enable zero-greenhouse gas and negative emissions in energy and transport (more detailed information below).
A competitive and sustainable European battery value chain
Batteries will enable the rollout of zero-emission mobility and renewable energy storage, contributing to the European Green Deal and supporting the UN SDGs by creating a vibrant, responsible and sustainable market. Besides climate neutrality, batteries also contribute to other UN SDGs directly and indirectly such as enabling of decentralized and off-grid energy solutions.
The strategic pathway is, on the one hand, for Europe to rapidly regain technological competitiveness in order to capture a significant market share of the new and fast-growing rechargeable battery market, and, on the other hand, to invest in longer term research on future battery technologies to establish Europe's long term technological leadership and industrial competitiveness
The Partnership “Towards a competitive European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility”, with as short name Batt4EU, to which all battery-related topics under this Destination will contribute, aims to establish world-leading sustainable and circular European battery value chain to drive transformation towards a carbon-neutral society.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting the battery value chain under this Destination are:
Increased global competitiveness of the European battery ecosystem through generated knowledge and leading-edge technologies in battery materials, cell design, manufacturing and recycling.
Significant contribution to the policy needs of the European Green Deal through new solutions for circularity and recycling of batteries.
Accelerated growth of innovative, competitive and sustainable battery manufacturing industry in Europe.
Development of sustainable and safe technologies and systems for decarbonisation of transport and stationary applications.
Contributing to the strategic independence of Europe through investigation of alternative battery chemistries using non-critical raw materials and efficient recycling technologies.
Increasing synergies with other partnerships and initiatives.
Emerging breakthrough technologies and climate solutions
Although the contribution of a wide range of technologies to reach climate neutrality is already foreseeable, EU R&I programming should also leave room for emerging and break-through technologies with a high potential to achieve climate neutrality. These technologies can play a significant role in reaching the EU’s goal to become climate neutral by 2050.
Relevant topics supported under this Destination complement the activities supported under Pillars I or III. They address emerging technologies that can enable the climate transition with a technology-neutral bottom-up approach. Research in this area is mostly technological in nature but should also, where relevant, be accompanied by assessments of environmental, social and economic impacts, by identification of regulatory needs, and by activities supporting the creation of value chains to build up new ecosystems of stakeholders working on breakthrough technologies.
The main expected impacts to be generated by the topic targeting breakthrough technologies and climate solutions under this Destination are:
Emergence of unanticipated technologies enabling emerging zero-greenhouse gas and negative emissions in energy and transport;
Development of high-risk/high return technologies to enable a transition to a net greenhouse gas neutral European economy.
Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex Aand Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex Bof the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex Bof the Work Programme General Annexes
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex Dof the Work Programme General Annexes
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
The funding rate is 60% of the eligible costs, except for non-profit legal entities where the funding rate is up to 100% of the total eligible costs.
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the specific topic of the Work Programme
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
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