Novel approaches towards next-generation battery concepts, leveraging the enabling role of innovative advanced materials (BATT4EU and IAM4EU Partnerships) – Förderung EU-weit

Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the generation of innovative battery concepts to safeguard future European competitiveness through innovative battery advanced materials and technologies contributing to green energy usage through enhanced energy storage and management capabilities. Depending on the areas listed in the scope, proposals are expected to cover all the respective bullet points: Area A: Development and validation of low-cost battery chemistries particularly suited for electric mobility supporting a reliable and flexible energy flow to meet fluctuating demand by enabling better integration of diverse energy sources: • Proposals are expected to provide the state-of-the-art benchmark for the performance of Design-to-Performance lithium-ion batteries[1] and sodium-ion batteries and compare the project’s improvements of performance targets to said benchmark. • Main component (active and main inactive materials) cost of below €35 per kWh OR Area B: Development of high-performance battery, particularly suited for aviation and high-performance mobility boosting green energy adoption by leveraging advanced energy carriers and storage solutions to support demanding applications: • Validation of advanced battery concepts achieving energy density exceeding 500 Wh/kg and/or Power density exceeding the state-of-the-art benchmark based on the selected application(s). OR Area C: Development of durable and reliable battery advanced materials and cell-level concepts specifically suited to stationary storage for either grid and/or energy-intensive industry applications. Scope: Projects are expected to contribute to one of the following battery concepts that meet different end-user needs and applications, going beyond state-of-the-art: Area A: Low-cost batteries designed primarily for passenger electric vehicles and/or stationary storage: • Development of battery chemistries utilizing minimised amount of Critical Raw Materials • Cost reduction through use of smart functionalities, as well as lightweight, functionalised and/or simplified casing or cooling concepts etc is encouraged. OR Area B: High-performance battery chemistries intended for applications requiring superior energy density, power density, and safety standards, such as aviation and maritime sectors: • Innovative approaches to battery structural integration and multifunctional materials to significantly boost gravimetric and volumetric performance. OR Area C: Novel battery advanced materials and cell-level concepts, for stationary energy storage for grid storage and/or energy-intensive industrial applications: • If applied for grid storage, solutions should demonstrate potential for cost-effective integration at system level (targeting system-level cost below €50/kWh) and provide support for multi-hour storage durations to enhance renewable energy uptake and grid flexibility. • If applied for energy-intensive industrial applications, battery materials and designs should address continuous high-load operation, cycling under harsh conditions, and reliability over long operational periods, contributing to the electrification and decarbonisation of specific industrial processes under study. All projects are expected to provide an assessment on all following aspects: • Scalability potential, manufacturability, and market relevance. • Solutions for extended cycle life, cost-efficient recyclability, and sustainability by design (implementing Safe and Sustainable by Design principles) • Solutions for enhanced safety, thermal management, performance monitoring, and predictive diagnostics. The Safe and Sustainable by Design[2] (SSbD) framework should be considered as a reference for project proposals to guide the innovation process towards safer and more sustainable chemicals and advanced materials. Proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC)[3] whose contribution could consist of performing experimental or desk-top research on battery performance or safety. For further information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the projects, please, search for additional publicly available information on the JRC’s website[4] (EU Science Hub) on the NCP portal, or request specific information from the JRC (JRC-NCP-Network@ec.europa.eu) JRC will assure that all the other applicants receive the same information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the project (e.g., via the topic-specific FAQs under the Funding and Tenders Portal). This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) and the co-programmed Partnership Innovative Advanced Materials for the EU (IAM4EU). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) and IAM4EUin support of the monitoring of its KPIs. This topic contributes to the industrial action plan for the automotive sector. Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL. [1] https://bepassociation.eu/our-work/sria/ [2] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/chemicals-and-advanced-materials_en [3] https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/laboratories-z/battery-energy-storage-testing_en [4] JRC NCP | Horizon Europe NCP Portal ">General conditions 1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout Applicants submitting a proposal for a blind evaluation (see General Annex F) must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos nor names of personnel in the proposal abstract and Part B of their first-stage application (see General Annex E). described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. 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 Eligible Conditions The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner. The JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal - see General Annex B. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). 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. 5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds The first-stage proposals of this topic will be evaluated blindly. To ensure a balanced portfolio covering different sectors, grants will be awarded to proposals not only in order of ranking but at least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within each of the three areas, provided that the proposals attain all thresholds. are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. 5c. Evaluation and award: 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 The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]]. described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions Not applicable. Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA): Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1 BLIND) Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1 BLIND) Guidance HE Programme Guide  Model Grant Agreements (MGA) Lump Sum MGA  Call-specific instructions  Detailed budget table (HE LS)  Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?" Additional documents: HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes HE Programme Guide HE Framework Programme 2021/695 HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual  Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions  Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement