TNO and partners are awarded 11.8M euro grant to develop Next Generation Cobalt-Free Batteries

Most Li-ion batteries contain cobalt which has some major concerns regarding toxicity, environment, health and a questionable or unethical supply chain. COBRA is a collaborative research and innovation project on next-generation cobalt free batteries and co-funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program.

Electromobility has been recognized as one of the main solutions to decarbonize transport. A battery-electric vehicle can produce 50% less CO2 emissions over its lifetime than an average EU oil or diesel vehicle today. The global market is expected to reach 125 million electric vehicles (EV) by 2030 with an increase in battery production capacity, for which Li-ion technology will likely remain the preferred choice for the next decade.

This growing market and the knowledge that the vast majority of these EVs use cobalt-based lithium-ion batteries express the need for research into minimizing the negative impacts on the environment and society of this market, such as COBRA will perform.

Cobalt-free Lithium-ion battery technology

COBRA aims to develop a novel cobalt-free Lithium-ion battery technology, while maintaining the high energy/power-density and lifetime performance we know from cobalt-based lithium-ion batteries. The proposed Li-ion battery technology will be demonstrated at TRL6 (battery pack) and validated on an automotive electric vehicle testbed.

The involvement of several leading organizations for battery manufacturing ensures easy adaptation to production lines and scale-up to contribute to a higher market adoption while helping to strengthen Europe’s position in the field.