Project results under this topic are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• European battery cell manufacturers are supported in their transition from incumbent (Gen.3) liquid electrolyte lithium-ion battery to high performance (solid-state) lithium-ion batteries;
• Increased diversity of chemistries, cell design (application-oriented) of the existing production lines and enabling European Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to stay competitive;
• Scaled production for premium products is targeted in the medium-term (for specific applications such as aviation), and large-scale production is targeted in the longer term.

Scope:

The scope covers quasi-solid and all-solid-state lithium-ion battery technologies (up to 5% liquid electrolyte weight percentage) which encompasses Si-C composite anodes or lithium metal anodes.

Process-Specific Machinery and Technological Upgrades

Projects are expected to identify and target at least one key manufacturing process for enhancement, and to focus on optimising and testing the specific critical process(es) within existing production lines rather than overhauling the entire production system. These processes must be critical to the transition from liquid electrolyte to solid-state batteries and have the potential for high-impact improvements in terms of production yield, quality, cost, and sustainability including energy consumption.

Projects are expected to cover all of the following tasks:

• Provide detailed plans on how existing machinery and systems can be adapted to optimise the chosen process, ensuring that these enhancements are both impactful and economically viable;
• Modify existing machinery to better support the specialised requirements of the targeted process. This includes enhancing capabilities to handle new materials and designs efficiently;
• Develop and implement technological innovations that specifically enhance the chosen process, such as precision manufacturing tools and additive manufacturing.

Feasibility and Impact Validation

Projects are expected to conduct pilot testing to validate the feasibility and benefits of the enhancements on the chosen process. Proposals are expected to include clear metrics for evaluating improvements, such as reductions in energy consumption, increases in production yield, and enhancements in product consistency.

Projects are encouraged to evaluate the impact of the new or improved process on other steps in the manufacturing line, including any necessary modifications to adjacent processes, or across other parts of the production line and in different manufacturing environments.

Advanced Materials and Cell Design Integration

Projects are expected to tailor the design of the produced cell to maximise the benefits of the improved process. This can be done through the development of new advanced materials or through the integration of existing materials to improve the targeted manufacturing process.

Digitalisation, Data Integration and Analytics and Process Control

Projects are expected to cover at least one of the following tasks:

• Implement advanced control systems and digital technologies that are specifically designed to optimise the chosen process, improving efficiency, and reducing waste;
• Develop new process simulation methods, process models and materials chemistry models allowing to virtually assess novel cell designs’ flexible manufacturability at scale for adapted existing plants.

In addition, projects are encouraged to leverage data analytics and data-driven approaches (artificial intelligence) to enhance decision-making and process optimisation, focusing on the specific needs and challenges of the targeted process.

Whenever the expected exploitation of project results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results must include a strategy for such exploitation. The exploitation plans are expected to include preliminary plans for scalability, commercialisation, and deployment (feasibility study, business plan).

Proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC)^[1] whose contribution could consist of performing experimental research on battery performance and/or safety. For further information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the projects, please, search for additional publicly available information on the JRC’s website (EU Science Hub) on the NCP portal or request specific information from the JRC (JRC-NCP-Network@ec.europa.eu).

JRC shall assure that all the other applicants receive the same information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the project (e.g., via the topic-specific FAQs under the Funding and Tenders Portal).

Projects are expected to collaborate and contribute to the activities of the Coordination and Support Action defined under the topic HORIZON-CL5-2025-D2-02-06.

To strengthen the European battery ecosystem, projects are expected to use materials, products and equipment produced in EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe, unless it is demonstrated that no valid option exists. The procurement strategies should be described in the proposal, especially and to the furthest extent possible the place of production of the elements.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

[1] https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/laboratories-z/battery-energy-storage-testing_en