The Eurecat technology centre and the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) are taking part in The Battery Show Europe with the joint battery research unit BATTECH which is presenting its new European technological research and innovation projects in this field. They involve investigating new materials for next generation cells and embedding them in large batteries for electric mobility and energy systems while addressing their second life and final recycling with the aim of delivering competitive solutions to the industry.
The team “works with advanced technologies for new generations of solid-state lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, exploring new materials and improving manufacturing processes to achieve superior performance and longer battery life coupled with seeking to be more environmentally friendly,” says Jordi Jacas, lead researcher in battery materials at IREC, which is unveiling the results of the Cobra, Spinmate, Intelligent and Advagen projects at the fair.
BATTECH is also showing at the fair a demonstrator of new modular and reusable batteries for electric vehicles that have been developed as part of the Marbel project, which has been coordinated by Eurecat. This is a lighter and more competitive battery concept with higher energy density and shorter charging times which is also eco-designed to allow easier coupling and uncoupling of battery components, thus making repair, recycling and reuse more efficient.
“At The Battery Show Europe we are showcasing this new prototype designed to lessen environmental impact and unlock the circular economy in the automotive industry while accelerating uptake of electric vehicles in the mass market,” says Agustí Chico, Eurecat’s Special Projects Director and BATTECH’s Technology Director.
Another BATTECH project related to enhancing the recyclability and reuse of batteries and which is also committed to greater sustainability and care for the environment is BatteReverse, which aims to improve reverse logistics by developing a more efficient and universal method for battery reuse processes, mainly targeting discharge and first diagnosis. This new system is expected to make the battery recovery process more efficient, safer and more sustainable, as a result cutting costs and shortening the time taken.
This same reuse process is the core of the studies in the Recirculate project, also presented at the fair by BATTECH, which addresses the needs of the European battery recycling industry for safe logistics. Recirculate’s developments are based on automated dismantling systems powered by artificial intelligence which have accurate sorting and source information about the battery to be recycled that can be used to draw up its passport. This system helps to set up a blockchain-based single virtual marketplace which drives new circular business models for second-life battery repair and reuse.
Finally, BATTECH is also presenting the Free4Lib project at the fair which is developing six sustainable and efficient processes for recycling lithium-ion batteries. “All of them bring extremely innovative recycling solutions achieving high efficiency in material recovery and improving the supply of secondary resources in the European Union,” says Agustí Chico.
