With a total budget of €40.5 million, the 2030+ Battery initiative has started seven projects to develop battery technologies of the future.
The European Commission (EC) launched in 2017 the European Battery Alliance to create a sustainable and competitive battery sector in Europe. In 2018, the EC announced its strategic action plan on batteries to address the battery challenges more directly. One of the key actions is the 2030+ battery large-scale and long-term research initiative, which announced the start of seven research projects on 10 September 2020. The goal of these research projects is “to develop ultra-performing, safe and sustainable batteries” in order to enable a carbon-neutral society.
The initiative, which is led by the Uppsala University in Sweden, has the ambition to help Europe become a “world-leader in development and production of the batteries of the future”. The batteries of the future must not only be more efficient, by storing more energy and endure longer, but do so in an environmental friendly way. As a part of the initiative, the projects, BIG-MAP, INSTABAT, SENSIBAT, SPARTACUS, BAT4EVER, HIDDEN and BATTERY 2030PLUS, will run for three years and involve over 100 universities, research institutions and companies in Europe. Because of the Horizon 2020 framework programmes, the battery 2030+ initiative is able to fund the first phase with €40.5 million total budget.
Another measure towards a carbon-neutral society is the European Strategic Energy Plan (SET Plan), which also aims to foster new technologies through cooperation between EU Member States, four associated non-EU countries, companies and institutiosn that are part of the Energy Union. The SET Plan works through the SET Plan Steer Group, the European Technology and Innovation Platforms (ETIPs), the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and the SET Plan Information System (SETIS). The SET Plan Steer Group, in which Switzerland is represented, is responsible for aligning the different research programmes at the EU and national level, thus to reduce duplications and increase cooperation. The aim of ETIPs is to bring together countries, industries and researchers to boost the market uptake of key energy technologies. The EERA focuses on fostering the development of new energy technology across Europe by uniting research organisations in joint programmes. Last but not least, the SETIS provides information on low-carbon technologies, impact of energy technology policies, cost and benefits of technological options and implementation costs.