Batteries of the future: EU project pools expertise

Building long-term and Europe-wide partnerships for the development of sustainable batteries in the future – this is the goal of the “TwinVECTOR” project. ITAS contributes its expertise in the field of life cycle analysis to the EU project.

Bild einer Batterie der Zukunft — Building Europe-wide partnerships for research into socially and environmentally sustainable battery technologies is the goal of the EU TwinVECTOR project. (Source: ZETHA_WORK/AdobeStock)

The European Union expects global demand for batteries to increase 14-fold by 2030 compared to 2018. According to the requirements from Brussels, batteries used in the EU must meet several criteria, such as high charge capacity, durability, and recyclability – i.e., the ability to be reintroduced into the material cycle at the end of their useful life. Moreover, they must be produced sustainably and from materials extracted in compliance with social and environmental standards.

Responsible research and innovation

Against this background, the work of the EU project TwinVECTOR has now started. The partners from the Czech Republic, Finland, Austria, and Germany are jointly expanding a center of excellence at Tomáš Baťa University (TBU) in Zlín, Czech Republic. By networking international players from science and industry, a pool of knowledge for new battery technologies will be created. The focus is on sustainable and responsible production of batteries over the entire life cycle, featuring higher energy density at lower costs.

ITAS contributes its expertise related to the early stage sustainability assessment of new battery systems, thus enabling a responsible research and innovation process. In particular, the methods of life cycle assessment (LCA) for the evaluation of ecological factors and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) for the evaluation of social factors are used.

Strengthening through institutional cooperation

TwinVECTOR is financed as part of the “Twinning” funding scheme of the EU, which supports institutional cooperation and the exchange of best practices. Particular attention is paid to research facilities and institutions in EU countries with modest or moderate innovation and research capacity, so-called “widening countries.” (07.02.2023)