ADVANCED SAFER MATERIALS AND HIGH PERFORMING CELLS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF LI-ION BATTERIES SUITABLE FOR MOBILITY APPLICATIONS

SAGELi aims to develop safer materials and cells that meet Batteries Europe’s 2030 targets for safety, performance, lifetime, sustainability and cost including EUCAR level <3. SAGELi’s new cathode active materials (CAM) contain no Co. They are based on inherently-safe Mn-rich oxides. Additional safety will be ensured by reducing CAMs’ active surface area and an innovative coating.

SAGELi’s safer binders target better adhesion, lower swelling and better processability to prevent safety issues from cracking and inhomogeneities. SAGELi’s flame-retardant electrolytes target stability at high voltage.

SAGELi’s Flash Thermal Test will predict safety from just a few grams of novel materials, eliminating the need for upscaling to determine safety. SAGELi’s State of Safety Early Prediction Tool will predict EUCAR level during battery operation and ageing.

SAGELi’s pouch cells will be demonstrated at 25 mAh and 5 Ah scale, and all SAGELi materials and cells are fully scalable and recyclable via existing processes.The consortium gathers (i) 5 top public research organisations whose previous results have been used in commercial batteries (CEA, FZJ, CNRS, CID, CICe); (ii) 7 companies committed to bringing SAGELi to market in existing and future factories across the EU for sales to customers worldwide: Umicore for CAM, Arkema for binder and electrolyte, Ccell for cells, Power4Future for batteries, FINCANTIERI for electric ships and THALES for electric aircraft equipment; and (ii) EU electromobility association, AVERE.SAGELi’s raw material cost is 23% lower than NMC811.

SAGELI’s market penetration in 2030 is expected to generate ~1.4 bn€ of revenues for SAGELi’s EU partners by 2030 and >20.2bn€ in 2035.

Its materials are expected to be used in 40GWh of batteries produced in 2030, 600GWh produced in 2035, and 700 GWh produced in 2040, providing a cumulative 1.9Mt C02eq savings vs NMC811. Preliminary LCA also predicts reduced water use, other emissions and land-use vs NMC811.