A European consortium of 18 entities from the automotive, research and technology sectors has developed a new cobalt-free lithium-ion battery system for EVs. 

After four years of development, the COBRA project, which has a budget of €12 million co-financed by the European Commission, has demonstrated the new system, which incorporates sensors, algorithms and communications for improved safety, control and efficiency.

The system is currently at TRL 6 on the scale measuring maturity of a technology, but expectations are that in coming years it will be possible to reach TRL 9, indicating a system successfully tested in a real environment, and that by 2030, some of the innovations can be applied to produce more sustainable and efficient batteries.

The system is made with such materials as treated wood and recycled aluminium, and offers weight advantages compared to other battery designs. It consists of 96 cobalt-free lithium-ion cells. Temperature, deformation and impedance sensors provide operational status information, and a pressure sensor and gas detector monitor any internal reaction.

The Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) is the lead partner of the project. Lluis Trilla, Senior Researcher at IREC, said, “The most interesting novelty is the innovative design of the battery management system that incorporates internal wireless communications in the system, executing a series of algorithms and advanced models within the battery.”

Source: Catalonia Institute for Energy Research