CIC energiGUNE advances in the manufacture of solid-state batteries through 3D printing
The Basque benchmark centre in energy storage is participating as a research partner in the 3DSTORE project, which aims to facilitate the manufacture of this type of battery by means of 3D printers for application in IoT connected devices.
The project, led by IREC, has been included in the “Strategic Lines” funding programme of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, with a working horizon of three years.
CIC energiGUNE, a leading Basque research centre in electrochemical energy storage, thermal energy storage and conversion and hydrogen technologies, is working on the application of 3D printing technology to solid-state batteries, a field in which it is an international benchmark. The research is part of the 3DSTORE project, in which the Basque centre acts as a research partner together with four other Spanish academic, scientific and industrial entities led by IREC-Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya.
“The possibility of digitising the manufacture of batteries through 3D printing is a decisive step towards the commercialisation of devices and applications for the future of the Internet of Things,” said Pedro López-Aranguren, head of the advanced electrolytes and cells research line in the CIC energiGUNE Research Group. “Bearing in mind that this manufacturing is only possible with solid-state batteries, as a reference centre we are in a privileged position to be able to provide the answers that the project demands,” he said.
In this sense, 3DSTORE can be considered a pioneering project that aims to demonstrate that 3D printing is a scalable and sustainable manufacturing technique for niche IoT-type applications. Specifically, the main objective of this project – subsidised within the “Strategic Lines” programme of the Ministry of Science and Innovation – is to develop a new generation of advanced high-performance lithium-ion batteries, digitally manufactured and available for IoT applications in industrial scenarios and critical infrastructures.
Importantly, innovative and flexible energy harvesting and storage solutions such as the one proposed by 3DSTORE are essential to meet the requirements of autonomous wireless sensor nodes for the future Internet of Things, which is considered one of the five technologies that will change the world. Furthermore, the 3DSTORE monolithic battery concept will provide high energy densities well aligned with the performance targets of the EU Strategic Research Agenda on Batteries and the Battery Roadmap 2030+.
In addition to CIC energiGUNE and the IREC Institute, the 3DSTORE consortium is made up of reference entities in 3D printing of advanced ceramics (University of Castilla-La Mancha, IREC), IoT (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya), and steel (CELSA Group).
