
High-performance battery storage systems that are simultaneously sustainable, safe and inexpensive are the goal of the European research initiative BATTERY 2030+. The participating research institutions and companies have now published a roadmap that both defines the characteristics of the batteries of the future and lists measures for accelerating development.
Three main research directions have been identified: "We want to accelerate the search for new materials and the right mix of materials, launch novel functions and establish manufacturing and recycling concepts," says Professor Maximilian Fichtner, head of the Energy Materials Department at the Institute of Nanotechnology of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and scientific spokesman of the Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage Ulm & Karlsruhe (CELEST). "With BATTERY 2030+, we are now bringing together and coordinating expertise in the respective subareas throughout Europe. This gives us the opportunity to be at the forefront of battery development worldwide, even in competition with the USA and Asia.