As part of our series of partner interviews, it is IREC's turn to give us an outlook of their role in the project.
Can you explain what is the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC-CERCA)?
The Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) is a public research center ascribed to the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in which the Department of Research and Universities also participates. IREC is a CERCA center and accredited as a TECNIO center. Created in 2008, it aims to contribute to the sustainable development of society and to increase the competitiveness of industry in the energy sector. The center develops research of excellence in the medium and long term, innovation and the development of new technological products and the dissemination of important knowledge and findings to the general public.
What specific expertise does IREC-CERCA bring to the project compared to other partners?
IREC provides its knowledge on battery management system (BMS) development and 2nd life transition of electric vehicle (EV) batteries to design a flexible battery management system. This technology enables the use of battery systems built with 2nd life EV battery modules from different manufacturers just requiring a firmware update.
IREC also provides technical solutions designed to extend the cycle life of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. We are capable of depositing thin-film layers at the electrode level made of sustainable and abundant materials such as aluminum or titanium, which are beneficial to the performance of state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. Extending the cycle life of Li-ion batteries is crucial in advancing sustainable manufacturing and recycling, as it leads to numerous environmental, economic, and resource-related benefits, significantly contributing to the creation of a circular economy for battery materials.
IREC-CERCA is involved in the development of the “Battery Passport.” Could you explain in simple terms what a Battery Passport is and how your team contributes to it?
A digital battery passport is a EU-mandated digital record that tracks a battery's entire lifecycle, from raw material sourcing and manufacturing to its use and eventual recycling, ensuring transparency, sustainability, and traceability within the supply chain. It contains detailed information about the battery's chemical composition, carbon footprint, performance, materials' origin, and recyclability, often accessed via a QR code, helping to verify ethical and low-emission production, improve reuse and recycling, and provide consumers with data on a used battery's condition.
IREC has contributed in providing insights and expertise for the implementation of the content related to environmental and design informartion, such as the carbon footprint. IREC has also given support in determining which aspects of the Battery Passport are more relevant from an environmental and eco-design point of view and which stakeholders need to be involved in their implementation.
Why is electrochemical and material characterization important, and how does it help improve battery recycling and reuse?
Characterizations are at the core of any electrochemical or material process being developed for battery recycling and reuse. It gives guidelines for understanding, guiding, and enhancing the processes. Without characterizations, there won't be recycling. Indeed, without electrochemical and material characterizations, batteries would not exist!
In Free4Lib, IREC has deployed advanced techniques to enable the rapid characterization of materials and components, including the refinement of crystal structures for the quantification of material crystal defects. The presence of certain defects in the crystal structure of the electrodes limits the electrochemical performance of batteries; therefore, these defects must be minimized in the final products as part of an efficient and sustainable recycling process.
What impact could these innovations have for citizens in their daily lives, for example in terms of cleaner technologies or more affordable energy storage?
Enabling the seamless transition of batteries to second life reduce greatly their environmental impact per kWh delivered over its lifetime. Additionally, this technology drives down the cost of stationary battery systems by incorporating into the market the large fraction of EV batteries that are currently disposed and recycled despite that they still have a residual value.
To go further on IREC's work to extend batterie's life-cycle see Huertas, Z.C., Settipani, D., Flox, C., Morante, J.R., Kallio, T., and Biendicho, J.J. (2022) High performance silicon electrode enabled by titanicone coating. Sci. Rep., 12 (1), 1–8.
To go further on IREC's research on characterization of materials and components such as crystals see Nel-Lo Pascual, M., Moreno, E.M., Jøsang, L.O., Merlo, M., and Jacas Biendicho, J. (2024) Revealing the impact of CO2 exposure during calcination on the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2. Nanoscale,22326–22336.
