SeNSE project to build battery cell competencies in Europe
12/03/2020
Experts from seven European countries are now working on solutions for next-generation lithium-ion batteries in the SeNSE research project within the European Battery Alliance. The Swedish company Northvolt is to play a decisive role in the four-year project.
The joint project is intended to help build up competence and production capacities in the field of battery cell technology in Europe. As Northvolt is planning to build two battery cell production plants in Europe – one in Sweden and one as a joint venture with Volkswagen in Salzgitter – there is a direct industrial link. Experts from Northvolt will also accompany the SeNSE scientists with regular briefings. In a press release, the company states that the aim is to create a series of battery cell prototypes. In addition, the capabilities of the new generation of battery cells are to be demonstrated using a demonstrator with 1 kWh storage capacity, and the production technology developed is to find its way into industry in the form of patents.
Five research institutes and six industrial companies are involved in SeNSE. The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa, Switzerland) is in charge. Also on board are the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster and the Jülich Research Centre (both in Germany), Coventry University (UK), the Austrian Institute of Technology (Austria) and the companies Solvionic (France), FPT Motorenforschung (Switzerland), Lithops (Italy), Northvolt (Sweden), Enwires (France) and Huntsman Advanced Materials (Switzerland). The EU is funding the project, which will run until spring 2024, with ten million euros as part of its Horizon 2020 research funding programme.