CIDETEC Energy Storage leads a project to develop more sustainable and affordable batteries made in Europe

HOLiBAT aims to make electric vehicles more competitive through new battery technologies

The transition towards more sustainable mobility largely depends on improving the batteries that power electric vehicles. However, some of the main challenges today are reducing their cost, lowering their environmental impact and ensuring that Europe can manufacture these technologies with less dependence on raw materials from other continents. Against this backdrop, HOLiBAT is a new European project coordinated by CIDETEC Energy Storage that aims to drive the development of a new generation of more efficient, sustainable and competitive batteries.

With a four-year duration and a budget of €8.8 million, HOLiBAT will bring together 15 organisations from nine countries, coordinated by CIDETEC Energy Storage, to develop technologies that enable the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles with improved performance and a reduced environmental footprint.

Although current batteries have undergone significant development over the past decade, their manufacturing still requires critical materials, energy-intensive processes and high production costs. HOLiBAT will work to overcome these limitations by developing new materials that reduce the need for elements such as cobalt and nickel, whose availability and price create uncertainty for European industry due to its dependence on third countries.

The project will also address one of the major challenges in battery manufacturing: resource consumption. To this end, it will investigate more sustainable production processes, partially replacing conventional solvents with water and developing dry manufacturing methods that can significantly reduce the energy required to produce the electrodes at the heart of a battery. The aim is to manufacture batteries more cleanly, using fewer resources and generating less waste.

In addition, HOLiBAT will incorporate advanced digital tools and ultrasonic-based monitoring systems to detect potential defects during manufacturing. These technologies will make it possible to inspect the inside of batteries without damaging them, improving the quality of the final product and reducing material waste.

As project coordinator, CIDETEC Energy Storage will play a key role in developing the new materials and manufacturing processes. Specifically, it will lead the work related to aqueous electrode processing, optimising their manufacture from the laboratory stage through to production on pilot lines. It will also study battery behaviour during operation to gain a better understanding of degradation and extend battery lifetime.

The advances achieved will be validated in two battery formats commonly used in electric mobility applications. The ultimate goal is to manufacture more sustainable batteries in Europe, combining high performance with more competitive costs, thereby contributing to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and strengthening Europe’s technological and industrial autonomy.