Press Release: Kick-off of project RELiEF on Innovative Lithium Recycling

Today EU Research Project RELiEF kicks off to give new life to previously unrecovered Lithium in batteries. By setting up an integrated recycling facility, the consortium of 13 interdisciplinary European partners will provide a solution to greatly reduce Lithium waste and decrease the dependency of the EU on imported chemicals and raw materials for battery production. As TechConcepts, we are proud to be part of the consortium of leading institutes and industry partners in recycling and the European battery ecosystem.

TechConcepts will contribute to the RELiEF project with the development of the Business Model and Exploitation plan, and with the coordination of the stakeholder engagement. For the latter we will organize a “RELiEF road-show” within five European Member States, once the technologies have reached enough maturity. The road-show is meant to enthuse battery recycling eco-systems within Member States about the RELiEF methodology, and to retrieve their input on requirements and barriers to be overcome for successful exploitation of the RELiEF recycling technology across the EU. More information about the RELiEF project can be found in the Press Release, or soon on the project website www.lithium-relief.eu.

We are part of Horizon Europe project ADVAGEN

Time to elaborate on one more project won by us ?: project ADVAGEN was granted to our consortium! The project will focus on next generation solid-state batteries for electromobility applications. Now what does that mean?

To date, the battery market has been dominated by lithium-ion (Li-ion) chemistries. Over time, their energy density has more than doubled while their costs have dropped by a factor of at least 10. However, conventional Li-ion batteries are reaching their performance limits in terms of energy density and are facing safety issues. New and promising battery generations, such as Solid-State Batteries can create a new industry value chain in Europe. And EU-made Solid-State Batteries could ensure uninterrupted battery supply to, among others, the automotive sector.

To do so, the development and deployment of new manufacturing technologies, enabling the large-scale production of Solid-State Batteries, is crucial. Innovative and scalable manufacturing techniques to produce Solid-State Batteries will accelerate cost reduction, energy savings, and enhanced safety.

ADVAGEN will develop a new lithium metal battery cell technology based on a safe, reliable, and high performing hybrid solid state electrolyte, gaining a competitive advantage over the worldwide (mainly Asian) competition. This will sustainably strengthen the EU as a technological and manufacturing leader in batteries as specified in the ERTRAC – European Road Transport Research Advisory Council electrification roadmap. The ADVAGEN consortium contains key EU actors in the battery sector, from industrial materials producers, battery manufacturer, to R&D centers and the automotive industry, covering the complete knowledge and value chain.

TechConcepts will be leading part of the exploitation and dissemination activities, and we will be leading the networking activities and roadmap definition that will guide the further development of the market readiness of the ADVAGEN technology after the project is finished. In other words, we have an important role in ensuring that the battery technology developed in project ADVAGEN will land in the car you will be driving around 2030!

ADVAGEN project will run from 2022 to 2026. You can learn more about the project and our role in the near future on our ADVAGEN project page. We are really proud of being part of this project with amazing partners like INEGI driving science & innovationPolitecnico di Torino and Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering (ABEE)

We are part of Horizon Europe project RELiEF

Recycling of battery materials will be key for a successful battery industry in Europe. And TechConcepts will help making that possible.

Scientist and industry in Europe are focusing on battery technology development, creating a world-leading role for European industry in battery technology. At the same time availability of battery materials becomes more challenging and expensive. That’s why we are very proud to contribute to Horizon Europe project RELiEF.

The project will start around June of this year. Project RELiEF will develop a recycling facility for Lithium from secondary raw material sources. The facility will recycle Lithium waste streams into high value battery-grade material. The process that project RELiEF will develop can be a key technology to reduce Lithium waste streams by more than 70%, turning it into valuable Lithium material that can be used for battery production!

Already a shortage of Lithium sources can be observed, leading to rapid price increase. Project RELiEF will help to create a new Lithium source stream from waste streams containing Lithium. This new Lithium stream will contribute to decreasing the dependency on imported battery chemicals and raw materials, and will greatly strengthen the EU’s competitiveness in the battery storage value chain. And we are not the only ones saying this. In yesterdays CIC energiGUNE’s BLOG ( https://lnkd.in/dz6y2TwT ) you can read why the race to lead the energy storage sector begins beyond the battery technology itself: for many reasons it begins with access to raw materials.

TechConcepts will be leading part of the exploitation and dissemination activities. And we will be co-developing the business model ensuring the route to successful implementation of the developed recycling technology. We look forward to collaborating with the partners, among whom Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering (ABEE) and INEGI driving science & innovation

A Hat-Trick in Horizon Europe!

TechConcepts has scored a Hat-trick! A great start to the new year.

Three Horizon Europe projects were granted to TechConcepts last week. The proposals were submitted in October 2021. The first project will focus on sustainable processing, refining and recycling of raw materials. The second will develop high-performance Generation 4a, 4b (solid-state) Li-ion batteries. Finally, the last one will develop new manufacturing technology development for solid-state batteries.

TechConcepts will carry out innovation management for the three projects – ensuring that the results and innovations produced within the three projects are disseminated broadly. Our focus will be on technology roadmapping, strategy building and market analysis.

We would like to thank our consortium partners, especially Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering (ABEE) (who is coordinating the projects) for their effort and support.

YES! TechConcepts is founded

It is 3 September 2021, and TechConcepts B.V. is a fact. Anish and Willar are delighted to announce to join forces in TechConcepts. And we are ready to take up our first challenges! Already we are involved in multiple (!) Horizon Europe proposals, which will be submitted in October 2021. We will disclose more information once we know which ones will be granted.

We really look forward to our collaboration, and to continuing the collaboration with our network. We will specialize ourselves in a few things.

  1. grant proposal development.
  2. dissemination and exploitation management.
  3. innovation management and trainings.

We will help our network to build strong partnerships and create winning innovation projects, innovative concepts and propositions. We will focus on our well-known areas of expertise.

  • Battery materials and technologies.
  • Recycling of valuable materials.
  • Sustainable mobility and automotive technology.
  • Energy and the Environment.

Where we are, you will see innovation, impact and valuable partnerships go hand in hand. Curious for what we can do for you? Feel free to contact us directly. or follow us on LinkedIn