Eurice to Leverage Innovation & Communication Expertise in EIC Pathfinder Project MeBattery: Breakthrough Battery Technology to Power the Future
The just-launched research and development project MeBattery strives to lay the foundations of a next-generation battery technology relying on a combination of radically new thermodynamical concepts. These will overcome the critical limitations of previously established battery systems across the most crucial performance categories. Over the coming three years, the project’s international research team comprising Eurice and five other highly qualified academic and institutional partners seek to develop a decarbonised and sustainable battery with high market potential that paves the way for the next phase of the green energy transition.
Led by the Universidad de Burgos, Spain, MeBattery has been funded with EUR 2.5 million from the competitive European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Pathfinder programme, targeting visionary and disruptive innovations that can bring about decisive societal transformations while addressing global challenges.
“Innovative battery technologies are central to transitioning to a climate-neutral and sustainable society. With MeBattery, we are proud to add another cutting-edge collaborative project geared towards facilitating and accelerating the green energy transition to the Eurice project family,” says Eurice CEO, Jörg Scherer.
A paradigm shift in energy storage solutions
Global energy-storage strategies are currently shaped by different flow (All-Vanadium and Zinc – Br2) and static (Na-ion and Li-ion) battery technologies aiming to fulfil the world’s increasing energy demand. All of these battery options have been plagued with so far unsolved high costs, safety issues and environmental and social concerns. Most importantly, both flow and static battery technologies actively work against thermodynamics. This is where MeBattery proposes a radically different path.
“Instead of ‘fighting against’ thermodynamics, we propose to ‘ally with’ thermodynamics in the novel MeBattery concept. If we are successful, the developed knowledge will change the perspective of batteries because the current differentiation between flow batteries and static batteries will no longer be of use. The appropriate merging of both types of batteries will lead to a new future battery technology that will combine the best of both worlds,” says project coordinator Dr Edgar Ventosa from the Universidad de Burgos.
More specifically, the breakthrough technology concept envisioned in the MeBattery project will use the intrinsic benefits of a redox flow battery system. By definition, certain aspects are addressed using a flowing configuration: decoupled energy and power capabilities, long lifetime, better energy efficiency, and full thermal stability. Due to the versatility of the proposed technology, other aspects such as sustainability, eco-friendliness and cost can be tuned by selecting appropriate materials. The resulting MeBattery prototype will be the first proof of concept of this next-generation battery technology, exhibiting an excellent balance among all key performance indicators.
Collaborative science
The six interdisciplinary project partners bring together a team of specialists who will contribute their complementary expertise in computational science, materials science, organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, chemical engineering, electrochemistry and battery prototyping. Possessing an extensive track record in communication, dissemination and exploitation activities, Eurice will provide expert guidance in these areas to the entire project team and will support the project management team.
“We are excited to contribute to the successful implementation of the project vision and attainment of the ambitious and visionary goals of MeBattery by bringing our vast, long-standing expertise in developing outreach and valorisation strategies to the table,” adds Jörg Scherer.
To find out more, please visit the project website under www.mebattery-project.eu.
Project Key Facts
- Title: MeBattery – Mediated Biphasic Battery
- Start: 1 May 2022
- Duration: 36 months
- Budget: 2,508,694 €
- Coordinator: Universidad de Burgos
- Website: https://www.mebattery-project.eu
Project Partners
- Universidad de Burgos
- Fundación IMDEA Energía
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria
- Universidade de Aveiro
- Ruhr-Universität Bochum
- Eurice – European Research and Project Office GmbH
