Developing future super-batteries
A world moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy will rely more and more on energy storage and in particular on batteries. Better batteries can reduce the carbon footprint of the transport sector, stabilise the power grid, and much more. The new "Battery 2030+" large-scale research initiative supported by the European Commission will gather leading scientists in Europe, as well as the industry, to achieve a leap forward in battery science and technology. The first "Battery 2030+" project kicks off in March 2019 and will lay the basis for this ten-year research initiative. Currently, 17 partners from nine European countries are involved, including the University of Münster and the Helmholtz-Institute Münster (HI MS).
The vision for "Battery 2030+" is to invent the batteries of the future, providing European industry with cutting-edge technologies. Since batteries are among the key technologies to achieve a deep local and global decarbonisation of the European energy system, in the near future, new generations of ultrahigh-performance, reliable, safe, sustainable and affordable batteries will be needed. "With this Europe-wide cooperative research and development endeavor we will jointly define and create cell chemistries and technologies of future super-batteries," says Prof. Martin Winter, director of MEET Battery Research Center and Helmholtz-Institute Münster.
The competition to develop future battery technologies is already intense. With this project, the scientists want to meet these challenges: "We will establish an acceleration platform for the discovery of new battery materials using machine learning and artificial intelligence", says Kristina Edström, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Uppsala University in Sweden and coordinator of the project. "Especially we will focus on interfaces in batteries where reactions take place that can be detrimental for battery lifetime."
The Battery 2030+ consortium includes Europe-wide five universities, eight research centres, three industry-led associations and one company. The Battery 2030+ consortium has also received the support of a number of European and national organisations.