Lithium-ion battery cells with conventional active materials are reaching their limits in terms of energy densities. Also, safety issues arise with the utilisation of liquid organic electrolytes which are becoming even more critical with the nearly introduction of advanced materials made to increase cell voltage and fast-charging rates. Hence, there is an urgent need for the development of innovative scalable manufacturing technologies based on new solid electrolytes that can be also combined with metallic lithium at the anode, leading to significantly enhanced energy density. In that context, solid-state electrolytes enable overcoming current battery cells limitations in terms of voltage and safety (reducing dendrites formation risk) leading to an increased intrinsic thermal and electrochemical stability. The new manufacturing techniques for the SSB Gen 4a/4b batteries should focus on cost, performance, safety and sustainability with clear prospects for cost-competitive large-scale manufacturing and uptake by the electromobility sector. Also, as the manufacturing techniques may benefit from digitalization, and moreover be ready to be integrated into digitally-driven larger production lines, project proposals should address digitalization within their scope. Manufacturing and cell assembly processes to be developed should be more sustainable compared to the current LIB manufacturing. In order to demonstrate cost reduction and improvement in other parameters projects are expected to provide a comparison with baseline manufacturing techniques. Focus is on manufacturing technology development, up to pilot-level proof of concept. Activities to be aligned/feeding into the specific machinery development topic –industrial machinery development are beyond the scope of this topic. The maximum award value is EUR 21 000 000

Eligibility      

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries;

• The Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
• The Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
• Eligible non-EU countries; countries associated to Horizon Europe and  low- and middle-income countries

The deadline for application is 19 October 2021. Visit Funder for more details