HELENA project: Driving innovation in high energy density Li-metal halide solid-state batteries for electric vehicles and aircrafts
The development of sustainable, high-efficiency and reliable batteries is critical to support climate neutrality goals, particularly in the electromobility sector. The European-funded HELENA project (Halide Solid State Batteries for Electric Vehicles and Aircraft) addresses these challenges by focusing on the manufacturing of next-generation lithium-metal solid-state batteries. The project tackles key hurdles in raw material sourcing, battery production, sustainability and cost-effectiveness. A multidisciplinary partnership brings the innovation from the lab to the industrial scale, covering the whole value chain, including industrial material producers, R&D centres, battery manufacturers, and automotive and aerospace end-users. The cell design features a high-voltage nickel-rich cathode coupled with a high-energy lithium metal anode and a lithium-ion superionic halide solid electrolyte. This configuration enhances energy and power density, thus being suitable for electric vehicles and aircrafts. HELENA aims to reshape the solid-state battery landscape by advancing technology readiness levels through the manufacturing of 10 Ah pre-industrial prototypes. This report highlights mid-way results of the project, discussing the major advancements in battery specifications and safety standards from end-users, processing of materials into battery component, battery modelling and recycling strategies to ensure long-term sustainability.
Authors
- Adrián Robles‐Fernández (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2483-3264)
- Artur Tron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6565-8247)
- Niloofar Hamzelui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8086-9504)
- Reza Fathi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6097-8962)
- Thomas Marchandier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9643-1064)
- Pedro López‐Aranguren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6912-2055)
- Elena Gonzalo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5646-0415)
- Sara Abada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7333-2335)
- Diana Chaykina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2872-6415)
- Fabian Diaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5163-8640)
- Massimo Brunetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2330-9604)
- Nicolas Guy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8303-027X)
- Marek Kamiński (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1893-0516)
- Cerun Alex Varkey
- Javier Carrasco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3117-6933)
- Andrey A. Golov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1776-4328)
- Anna‐Katharina Hatz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6247-4385)
- Gebrekidan Gebresilassie Eshetu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8834-2766)
- Pierre Lannelongue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2566-794X)
- Qi Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3155-2475)
- Claudio Gavagnin
- Alaa Almousli
- Emanuel Drude
- Akshayan Sudharshan
- Stefan Beschnitt
Institutions
- Ikerbasque (ES)
- Umicore (Belgium) (BE)
- Saint-Gobain (France) (FR)
- AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH (AT)
- IFP Énergies nouvelles (FR)
- Fondazione Roma (IT)
- Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (DE)
- FEV (Germany) (DE)
- Structum (Slovenia) (SI)
- CIC energiGUNE (ES)
- Holst Centre (Netherlands) (NL)
- Gesellschaft zur Förderung angewandter Informatik (DE)
- Saint-Gobain Recherche Paris
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
- Technische Universität Braunschweig (DE)
- FH Aachen (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2025.03.013
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.46
Funders
- European Commission
- Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme