NovelSusMat

Novel, sustainable material solutions for high performance energy storage applications (NovelSusMat)

Electrification of transportation and increased need of energy storage capacity are one of the megatrends that influences battery materials. NovelSusMat project aims at developing novel high-performance electrode materials for batteries using abundant elements and sustainable processing to boost the renewal of industry related to battery value chain and new business opportunities. Especially, the aim is to use abundant elements, industrially relevant and sustainable methods of manufacturing, and material solutions that can be integrated with the existing industrial value chains.

Up to date, lithium, cobalt, and graphite have been the key elements of high-performance batteries. All these are classified as critical raw materials (CRM) in EU. Topic is also actual. The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) entered into force on May 23, 2024. The goal of the CRMA is to strengthen all phases of the critical raw materials value chains within the European Union. Measures include diversifying imports, reducing strategic dependencies, improving monitoring of supply risks, and enhancing the sustainability and circularity of materials. The regulation is influenced by the EU’s Green Deal, which guides the EU towards climate neutrality. The development of novel material solutions to replace the conventional CRM-containing alternatives will be based on the combination of competences and methods in chemistry and metallurgy to yield the powders as well as their processing to improve the properties. The two leading Finnish research groups with their international networks join their forces to develop and introduce sustainable material alternatives for industrial needs. The added value of the approach is the complementary know-how and experimental capabilities of the partners as well as the partial overlapping of the present value chains, providing the consortium excellent foundation for the renewal of Finnish industry. Alongside novel and sustainable material solutions, the key goal is a close dialogue with Finnish industry in the field to ensure the effective dissemination of results and innovations.