HAVEN features a systematic, collaborative, and integrated approach to the design and demonstration of a cutting-edge, sustainable, and safe HESS capable of long duration storage and provision of multiple services for supporting the electrical grid and EV charging infrastructure by coupling complementary technology assets, namely, next-generation high-energy (HE) and high-power (HP) storage technologies, optimised power converter devices with innovative cognitive functionalities, advanced and cyber-secured energy management and control tools and strategies in a novel system architecture. HAVEN seeks to achieve a modular, scalable and cost-efficient solution with the capability to efficiently manage power and energy shares while optimising the system in terms of sizing, CAPEX/OPEX, aging stress and store degradation depending on the specific application. In addition, the project will go a step further by developing a flexible Digital Twin (DT) of the system, valid regardless of the cell chemistry and application and adaptable for second life battery modules, that enables to predict the performance and management of the system over its lifetime, while easing its design and predictive maintenance. All this, leveraged by the first-hand experience of leading academic and industrial players (7 companies). HAVEN’s smart solution will be validated and demonstrated up to TRL 7 in 3 physical and 2 virtual Use-Cases (UCs), covering a wide range of grid support services and considering the specificities of multiple electricity and balancing markets, both in Europe and beyond. To pave the path towards a fast market uptake after the project, the work will also include the development of business models and industrial exploitation strategies, cementing HAVEN’s position as a game-changer in the field of energy storage systems.

Batteries have been identified as an important technology to guide the clean-energy transition. Its presence in the automotive and energy storage industry is well-established and forecasts show its incoming market uptake. However, the current BMS of FLBs lack interoperability features, resulting in a time-consuming, expensive, and non-standardized reconfiguration process for SLB adaptation. These drawbacks complicate FLB repurposing for SLB applications, like ESS. The BIG LEAP project focuses on developing solutions for the SLBs BMS and its reconfiguration process. Technology breakthroughs will be made in its BMS, as a new three-layer architecture will be designed to ensure interoperability, safety, and reliability. It will be complemented with an adaptable ESS design to ensure BMS integration and expand the SLB's potential applications. Additionally, the BIG LEAP project intends to optimize the battery reconfiguration process by making it cost-effective, faster, and standardized. The methodology for the development of these innovations includes the collection of EV, maritime E-Vessel, and ESS batteries that will be dismantled and the data collected will serve as the basis for the BMS architecture development. It will contain adaptable SoX algorithms for accurate battery measurement, a DT for real-time monitoring, and a standardization roadmap. The new BMS will be integrated into the batteries, alongside the ESS and will be tested in three demo sites. Two physical demos will be in Paris and Prague, and a virtual demo will be in Morocco. They aim to validate the novel BMS and ESS, proving their optimization and interoperability. The BIG LEAP innovation includes a multidisciplinary consortium, a strong business case, and an Environmental Impact assessment. All with the intention of accelerating its market uptake with a cost-effective solution, positively impacting the European economy through the battery value chain and tracing its sustainable benefits.

SWARM-E is a trans- and multi-disciplinary approach for sustainable, affordable and modern energy access and well-being for Sub-Saharan Africa, aligned with the AU-EU Agenda 2063. SWARM-E consists of several layers: 1) an innovative renewable electricity infrastructure, the SWARM grid, a circular and cyber-smart network where end-users exchange electricity of their solar home systems and form the nodes of a smart grid which can dynamically grow to meet demand; 2) unlocking unutilised renewable energy for productive uses in the water energy food nexus – cold storage, water purification, water pumping and irrigation, carpentry; 3) transfer and decentralisation of Global North energy transformation innovations – decentralised hydrogen production for cleaner cooking, bi-directional charging of light electric vehicles (two- and three-wheelers) to transport goods and people. SWARM-E builds on network effects generated through the inclusion of localised economies with strong producer-consumer linkages embedded within larger systems of trade and exchange for the creation of bottom-up energy communities. SWARM-E will operate and replicate 5 pilots in Rwanda and Tanzania, under which 5 SWARM grids are installed, delivering 6.9 GWh of renewable electricity while generating income through the trading of electricity and avoiding the discard of 3,200 batteries; 5 water purification applications deliver 101.M L of clean water; 15 light electric vehicles deliver farmers’ produce, power mobile productive uses and cold storage, increasing the yields of 1,000 farmers and reducing the food losses of more than 5,000; 700 kg of H2 are blended with LPG for cleaner cooking, and more than 500 jobs for women and youth are created. The balanced participation of EU and AU private, public and civil society organisations in the consortium will ensure the knowledge transfer North-South and South-South, and the sustainability of value chains based on local value creation and entrepreneurship.

OpenMod4Africa aims to develop an open Toolbox populated with state-of-the-art models for analysing long-term pathways to sustainable, secure and competitive energy systems in Africa. The Toolbox will build on EU projects like Open ENTRANCE, Plan4RES and FocusAfrica, and will adapt and further develop open models in accordance with the African context and needs. The models are scalable, and can be applied to cities, industries and countries. Furthermore, a main objective for OpenMod4Africa is capacity building among energy models in academia. Five African universities will be actively involved in adapting models and conducting three regional case studies. The additional capacity and the open Toolbox will enable the universities to train new generations of energy modelling experts for the energy industries in Africa. Three decision-makers will also be engaged, together with a network of energy industries and universities in 25 African countries. These players will be invited to use the Toolbox, and to be involved in training activities. They will also be invited to a permanent network of expertise, which will be developed for further capacity building and collaboration beyond the project. Three case studies will develop energy pathways for rural areas, cities, countries and large regions of countries in Western and Eastern Africa and in Tunisia. The replication strategies will pave the way for further analyses beyond the project. Finally, OpenMod4Africa aims to collaborate with other ongoing initiatives to maximize the impacts of the project and create synergies. The consortium consists of 16 partners and 2 associated partners. Nine partners are African. Important long-term impacts from the three-year project include enabling academia and decision-makers in Africa to conduct their own analyses for the optimal development of their energy system, supplying energy to a much larger share of the population, and establishing a system based upon the abundant share of renewables on the continent.