The Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI) has unveiled its technical roadmap towards advanced lead battery design and manufacturing in Europe.
The CBI’s most recent technical roadmap – committed to providing high-performance batteries and supporting EU green development and decarbonisation efforts – has been released.
Advanced lead battery research
Through a combination of contemporary market analysis and a scientific vision laying out the ways in which the performance of batteries can be increased to provide a clean and sustainable future in Europe, the CBI – the world-leading global battery research organisation – has revealed its novel research plans for advanced lead battery research.
The demand for battery energy storage is forecast to increase dramatically in the EU as the move towards electric vehicles and energy grids are optimised for resilience and flexibility. In Europe, the International Energy Agency has predicted that the annual additions of wind and solar must reach a staggering four times greater than 2020’s record in order to attain net zero by 2020.
In sectors such as telecoms, the transition to 5G networks, as well as the necessity of reliable sources of power for data centres, also features batteries as a core factor in maintaining communications.
Dr Christian Rosenkranz, Chair of CBI and Vice President Industry and Governmental Relations EMEA at Clarios, explained: “We are spearheading research collaborations with governments, universities, end-users and lead battery manufacturers to ensure we fully tap the innovation potential of the technology. This is the age of the battery and Europe is at the heart of the electrification revolution. Our roadmap is helping us deliver next-generation lead batteries to meet the challenges of making a clean future a reality.”
EU companies participating in the research and members of the Consortium include Clarios, Exide, EnerSys and Hoppecke.
CBI Director, Dr Alistair Davidson, said: “Analysts predict a huge increase in global demand for lead batteries, estimated to be around 490,000 MWh by 2030. Our Technical Roadmap sets a clear path to achieving enhanced high performing and resilient advanced lead batteries through our new research.”
The CBI’s new roadmap emphasises the massive potential to enhance lead battery performance and sets objectives for each application area, including mobility and renewable energy storage, to enhance the lifetime and efficacy of batteries in every sector.
As well as this, the exceptional circularity, safety, and reliability of lead batteries is adding further credibility to the EU’s role as a centre for sustainable battery technology.
Roadmap targets
The areas specifically targeted in the roadmap include:
- Automotive: Safeguard the latest improvements in DCA, and ensure they are maintained for 12 V and low-voltage EV batteries while enhancing high-temperature durability performance.
- Energy storage systems: enhancing cycle life, calendar life and round-trip efficacy while lowering acquisition and operating costs.
The novel roadmap will develop the improvements made in the first edition which was released in 2019 and enhances its coverage of essential application areas such as motive power, industrial, UPS and e-bikes.
