Towards creating an integrated manufacturing value chain in Europe: from machinery development to plant and site integrated design (Batteries Partnership)
HORIZON Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-04
- Programme
- Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- April 28, 2022
- Deadline
- September 6, 2022
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €3,000,000
- Keywords
- Digital AgendaArtificial IntelligenceCo-programmed European PartnershipsMaterials engineeringElectrical engineering, Electronic engineering, InLihium-ionbatteriesli-ionplantmachineryequipmentmanufacturing
Description
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Strengthening Europe’s battery cell industrial manufacturing value chain by building-up its Giga scale manufacturing capabilities distributed in the member states territories.
- Development of new battery cell manufacturing machinery, with priority on minimising energy needed for cells production, enhancement of plant efficiency rates and integration of intelligent control processes to minimise scrap.
- Enabling deeper collaboration between (i) battery process equipment companies (ii) industrial-scale cell manufacturing, (iii) material, energy and other supply chain sectors benefitting from sector coupling.
- To stimulate and intensify the collaboration between pilot line operators, industrial-scale academia, cell manufacturing companies and European equipment companies to push innovations with regard to an economically and ecologically sustainable cell production in Europe.
In order to build globally competitive Li ion battery (LIB) cell production plants in Europe, all the production value chain from machinery to plant and site development and optimisation is expected to be considered holistically, from machinery development to plant and site integration and optimisation. This topic intents to cover both areas.
In recent years Europe has developed strong competences in Li ion battery technology with regard to academic research, material development and Battery system design. However, there is still a lack of knowledge and competence regarding the economically and ecologically production of LIB cells in both high volumes in Giga-factories or in much smaller batches for specialised applications as developed in Mega-factories. From this perspective, the scope of this topic is two-fold:
- From one side, to be able to supply machinery which is developed and built locally, Europe has to develop a leading position in the production of resource efficient, intelligent electrode and cell manufacturing machinery.
In the development of such battery manufacturing machinery, important aspects for success include: minimising energy consumption, eliminating air and water pollution and integration of intelligent control processes to minimise scrap thus reducing costs and environmental impact of the production process. In addition, such machinery is expected to operate at very high productivity levels with incorporate intelligent quality control systems. Moreover, strategies of industry 4.0 should be intensively integrated in new European cell production plants to yield economic success.
Activities under this topics would cover from TRL 3 (start) to TRL 6 (target).
- From the other side, battery cell production as a whole is currently confronted with enormous cost pressure. One major factor in the cost structure of European Giga-scale battery cell production is related to highly energy consuming manufacturing processes. A significant reduction and/or utilisation of low-carbon and low-emission energies would not only bring economic benefits, but would also provide clear advantages in terms of the ecological footprint. For sustainable success, the horizontal integration of the European supply chain for battery process equipment into the growing production of giga-scale battery cells is a major challenge.
Activities under this topic would cover from TRL 6 (today) to TRL 7 (target).
Hence, this topic aims at closing a gap and enabling deeper collaboration between industrial-scale cell manufacturing, battery process equipment companies, and material and other industrial sectors potentially benefitting from sector coupling with cell manufacturing (e.g. grid power or material suppliers).
Therefore, existing cell production lines and their material and energy flow internally and externally interaction with other companies at the site should be investigated and evaluated. Based on this, the network should investigate the ecological impact of different machinery, production line configurations and factory designs to come to best practice proposals. Another challenge is to implement ecological standards along the production chain together with material suppliers and factory operators.
One additional target to achieve these goals is to stimulate and intensify the collaboration between pilot line operators (e.g. which should be organised within the LiPLANET network), industrial-scale academia, cell manufacturing companies and European equipment companies to push innovations with regard to an economically and ecologically sustainable cell production in Europe. This includes the support from running activities including for example IPCEI's on batteries.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
Specific Topic Conditions:Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 (for machinery development) and TRL 7 (integration of manufacturing plant supply chain) by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Cross-cutting Priorities:Artificial Intelligence
Digital Agenda
Co-programmed European Partnerships
Destination & Scope
This Destination covers thematic areas which are cross-cutting by nature and can provide key solutions for climate, energy and mobility applications. In line with the scope of cluster 5 such areas are batteries, hydrogen, communities and cities, early-stage breakthrough technologies as well as citizen engagement. Although these areas are very distinct in terms of challenges, stakeholder communities and expected impacts, they have their cross-cutting nature as a unifying feature and are therefore grouped together under this Destination.
This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations (KSO):
- C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems;
- A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy[[‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’, as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.]] by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations;
- D: Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society, prepared and responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing high-quality health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital transitions.
It covers the following impact areas:
- Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people
- Affordable and clean energy
- Smart and sustainable transport
The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute to the “Clean and sustainable transition of the energy and transport sectors towards climate neutrality facilitated by innovative cross-cutting solutions”, notably through:
- Nurturing a world-class European research and innovation eco-system on batteries along the value chain based on sustainable pathways. It includes improvement of technological performance to increase application user attractiveness (in particular in terms of safety, cost, user convenience, fast charging and environmental footprint), in parallel supporting the creation of a competitive, circular, and sustainable European battery manufacturing value chain (more detailed information below).
- Increased efficiency of Europe’s cities’ and communities’ energy, resource use and mobility patterns and cities’ and communities’ overall sustainability, thereby improving their climate-resilience and attractiveness to businesses and citizens in a holistic fashion. This also includes improved air and water quality, resilience of energy supply, intelligent mobility services and logistics, liveability and accessibility of cities, public health, comfortable, affordable zero emissions housing as well as the exploitation of relevant European technologies and knowledge (more detailed information below).
- Facilitating the transformation to a climate neutral society, in line with the EU’s 2050 climate targets, through more effectively engaging and empowering citizens to participate in the transition, from planning to decision-making and implementation (more detailed information below).
- Nurturing the development of emerging technologies with high potential to enable zero-greenhouse gas and negative emissions in energy and transport (more detailed information below).
A competitive and sustainable European battery value chain
Batteries will enable the rollout of zero-emission mobility and renewable energy storage, contributing to the European Green Deal and supporting the UN SDGs by creating a vibrant, responsible and sustainable market. Besides climate neutrality, batteries also contribute to other UN SDGs directly and indirectly such as enabling of decentralized and off-grid energy solutions.
The strategic pathway is, on the one hand, for Europe to rapidly regain technological competitiveness in order to capture a significant market share of the new and fast growing rechargeable battery market, and, on the other hand, to invest in longer term research on future battery technologies to establish Europe's long term technological leadership and industrial competitiveness
The Partnership “Towards a competitive European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility”, to which all battery-related topics under this Destination will contribute, aims to establish world-leading sustainable and circular European battery value chain to drive transformation towards a carbon-neutral society.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting the battery value chain under this Destination are:
- Increased global competitiveness of the European battery ecosystem through generated knowledge and leading-edge technologies in battery materials, cell design, manufacturing and recycling;
- Accelerated growth of innovative, competitive and sustainable battery manufacturing industry in Europe;
- Accelerated roll out of electrified mobility through increased attractiveness for citizens and businesses, offering lower price, better performance and safety, reliable operation of e-vehicles. Increased grid flexibility, increased share of renewables integration and facilitated self-consumption and participation in energy markets by citizens and businesses;
- Increased overall sustainability and improved Life Cycle Assessment of each segment of the battery value chain. Developed and established innovative recycling network and technologies and in line with the March 2020 European Circular Economy Action Plan, accelerated roll-out of circular designs and holistic circular approach for funded innovations;
- Increased exploitation and reliability of batteries though demonstration of innovative use cases of battery integration in stationary energy storage and vehicles/vessels/aircrafts (in collaboration with other partnerships).
Communities and cities
This work programme contains only a few activities. The bulk of activities related to communities and cities will be introduced during 2021 as an update to the Horizon Europe work programme 2021, once the preparatory phase of the Horizon Europe Missions has been concluded.
Emerging breakthrough technologies and climate solutions
Although the contribution of a wide range of technologies to reach climate neutrality is already foreseeable, EU R&I programming should also leave room for emerging and break-through technologies with a high potential to achieve climate neutrality. These technologies can play a significant role in reaching the EU’s goal to become climate neutral by 2050.
Relevant topics supported under this Destination do not duplicate activities supported under Pillars I or III, but focus on emerging technologies that can enable the climate transition and follows at the same time a technology-neutral bottom up approach and the support of key technologies that are expected to support achieving climate neutrality. Research in this area is mostly technological in nature but should also where relevant be accompanied by assessments of environmental impact, social and economic impacts, and possible regulatory needs as well as activities to support the creation of value chains and to build up new ecosystems of stakeholders working on breakthrough technologies.
The main expected impacts to be generated by topics targeting breakthrough technologies and climate solutions under this Destination are:
- Emergence of unanticipated technologies enabling emerging zero-greenhouse gas and negative emissions in energy and transport;
- Development of high-risk/high return technologies to enable a transition to a net greenhouse gas neutral European economy;
Citizens and stakeholder engagement
The transition to climate-neutral economies and societies by 2050 is the defining challenge of this century. The challenge is not just technical: it calls for wide-ranging societal transformations and the adaptation of lifestyles and behaviours. Engaging citizens and stakeholders is therefore critical for the success of the European Green Deal, as is making greater recourse to the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), alongside the Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) disciplines.
The topics under this section do not stand alone but aim to complement and support the broader integration (“mainstreaming”) of citizen and stakeholder engagement as well as the social sciences and humanities (SSH) across the whole Horizon Europe programme map and particularly Cluster 5.
The main expected impacts to be generated by topics targeting citizen and stakeholder engagement under this Destination are:
- A better understanding of the societal implications of the climate transition, including its distributional repercussions;
- More effective policy interventions, co-created with target constituencies and building on high-quality policy advice;
- Greater societal support for transition policies and programs, based on greater and more consequential involvement of those most affected.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
- Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
- Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
- Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of the total eligible costs.
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
The standard application form can be found in the link below, but be cautious that for this Call topic, the limit of 70 pages applies.
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
MGA
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
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