The project main goal is to develop new generation batteries for battery storage with a modular technology, suitable for different applications and fulfilling the increasing need of decentralised energy production and supply for private households and industrial robotised devices.. New materials and components will be developed and optimised to achieve longer lifetime (up to 10,000 cycles depending on the material selected), lower costs (down to 0.03 €/kWh/cycle), improved safety and more efficient recycling (>50%). The expected results will strengthen EU competitiveness in advanced materials and nanotechnologies and the related battery storage value chain, preparing European industry to be competitive in these new markets. This will be achieved by using high capacity anodes coupled with cobalt free cathode and with a very safe gel polymer electrolyte separator, leveraging partners’ knowledge in advanced materials. This new technology will be developed up to a TRL 6 (large prismatic cell ESP-Cell 30Ah) at the end of the project, producing these novel high voltage high capacity batteries close to practical applications. Further, the proposed solution will allow Europe to become more independent from raw material and the feasibility of a metal recovery process will be deeply investigated and recommendations for future application will be made. To achieve the ambitious targets, the CoFBAT project covers the entire value chain, bringing together industrial experts in material development and battery science together with engineering companies and institutes and battery producers and integrators.

ASSET´s goal is twofold: first, to create a sustainable and scalable ecosystem including all energy transition and education stakeholders: a) Companies from the energy sector, b) Universities and training actors, c) Authorities and policy makers and d) Society so as to enable a) continuous bottom up creation of research, innovation and educational (RIE) services and b) capacity pooling. By “service” we mean any research, innovation and educational relevant service that can be developed by the educational actors and delivered to the energy sector businesses and society at large. ASSET will also involve actors that can contribute to fuel interdisciplinary research combining SSH disciplines and capable of reaching out to the society to create the new generation of energy-sensitive citizens that are part of the energy transition mission. And second, to deliver the framework and means for continuous collaborative definition of the knowledge-competencies-skills required for the energy transition and for continuous resource pooling to efficiently educate/train large numbers of people in diverse and interdisciplinary topics and carry out research and innovation activities. The implementation of the ASSET approach will take place in 3 phases: 1) Ecosystem set-up with relevant actors to identify the knowledge, skill and competencies gaps in the addressed fields in order to design appropriate RIE services to close the gap. 2) RIE service development: Educational actors, based on the specifications of KSC gaps and on the results of the ASSET SSH research, will define the services (educational and research programme) that meet the specified needs. 3) Evaluation: ASSET delivers the developed RIE services to the targeted actors across EU universities, across companies from the energy sector and across EU societies. The aim is to collect feedback so as a) to refine ASSET offerings and b) define concrete ASSET sustainability plans

In recent years the global shift to a more sustainable energy system is becoming a reality. Nevertheless, now more than ever it is necessary to make our best efforts in making this transition as fast as possible, because otherwise the consequences could be dreadful for our climate conditions. This change necessarily comes through a full transformation of the energy sector, which must consider the energy in all its shapes. Specifically, it is required the electric sector to be adapted to the foreseen penetration of renewable power generation by means of increasing the grid flexibility, guaranteeing its stability and supply security and making the energy affordable for all citizens. This transformation passes through taking advantage of the local renewable resources and turn the current power generation model into a more decentralized new one. To meet this purpose, the integration of electric storage batteries along the different stage of the power supply chain is crucial. This element plays a key role when it comes to adjust the variability of the generation coming from renewable sources such as wind and solar energy and the end-users demand, which sometimes responds to some given needs and cannot be shifted along the day, and sometimes it can be adapted to the generation profile. In this context, besides the integration of the proper technology into the grids, it is utterly necessary its correct management and thus, the development of suitable tools to balance the different elements integrated in the grid. TALENT aims a wide and cost-effective integration of batteries in the grid that will lead to an increase of the flexibility in the energy system and will be based on new technological developments in: i) scalable and modular power electronics topologies, ii) power electronics devices, iii) high-voltage batteries and iv) interoperable software as a service for energy resources management.

Storage is becoming one of the most critical assets for modern energy systems. At the same time storage is a very diverse universe of solutions and technologies with very different characteristics. InterSTORE plans to address this complexity by developing an innovative middleware that, while virtualising the storage technology, will simplify its use from the point of view of integration platform thanks to a technology agnostic approach.The middleware will facilitate the integration of storage creating an independence from hardware solutions which are critical from customer perspectives to avoid vendor lock-in solutions. It will also facilitate its use from a monetisation perspective making sure that more investments in storage are enabled. InterSTORE middleware will be released as a full open-source product integrating a set of already available standards and protocols in a coherent and advanced architecture.The new InterSTORE solution will be tested and validated in a laboratory environment with the goal to develop testing software to be adopted in the future for interoperability certification. The middleware solution will also be integrated both in open source and commercial platforms that will be integrated in 4 real life demos to enhance the flexibility platforms and analyze the user acceptance and economic value of the new solution. Moreover, new and legacy systems will be taken into account. InterSTORE also has a strong focus towards impact. The solution will become part of existing commercial platforms ensuring that a real adoption will be deployed beyond the end of the project. The consortium will ensure that software maintenance will continue beyond the end of the project with the support of Linux Foundation Energy and that the work done will be considered by on-going standardization activities. SSH experts will perform an impact analysis to maximize the economic impact adopting innovative approaches to data monetization in the context of data spaces.

SYNERGIES PILLAR: SMARTSPEND is going to put booster rockets under the SET Plan. It will bring all the non-nuclear energy sectors together for a focused discussion on their common interests around technology development and non-technology barriers to the uptake of their technologies. The partners will then talk in parallel to all Implementation Working Groups to ensure that synergies between the ideas, plans and ambitions of each sector are exploited. This will happen at the start, middle and end of the project. FINANCIAL STRATEGIES PILLAR: SMARTSPEND will also get energy sectors to sit together and discuss their common needs for financing, and compare the way in which each federates its European energy R&I interest and presents it to the Commission. The messages from discussions under both Pillars will be brought to the attention of high-level government officials (ideally ministers) individually through a concerted campaign in SET Plan country capitals. This is SMARTSPEND’s ‘Roadshow’, in which delegations of 5 relevant company bosses are created, briefed, and sent to the minister to tell their story and share their views. In addition, the project will ensure all are better aware of the EU’s soft loan scheme for energy innovation, EDP Innovfin, and of ETS Innovation Fund. Both can complement national or European grants. SMARTSPEND will organise a conference, “Access to Risk Finance” for energy technology developers and the managers of public and private financing or funding schemes. Knowledge of the schemes’ opportunities will be spread widely. The SMARTSPEND consortium has the ideal make-up to reach deep into the community of stakeholders behind each SET Plan energy technology. Leading organisations behind the few technologies not represented in the consortium have sent letters of support to the proposal indicating they will use other funding to join SMARTSPEND’s activities and comment on early versions of its reports.