Advancing Europe’s Battery Value Chain: ENICON, GIGAGREEN and Transensus LCA Success Stories
19 March 2026
Read the main achievements of the BATT4EU project ENICON, GIGAGREEN, and Transensus LCA
Since 2021, Horizon Europe has funded a broad portfolio of research and innovation programmes supporting Europe’s battery ecosystem. Battery‑related projects are brought together under BATT4EU, a public‑private partnership between the European Commission and the Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA). To highlight the progress made across this landscape, BEPA hosts the BATT4EU Success Stories webinar series.
In the latest edition, held in March 2026, three projects presented their achievements: ENICON, GIGAGREEN, and Transensus LCA. Each tackles a different challenge along the battery value chain—from raw material extraction to sustainable cell manufacturing and harmonised environmental assessment.
ENICON: Unlocking Europe’s Nickel and Cobalt Potential
The ENICON project focuses on securing responsible, European‑sourced nickel and cobalt for batteries. It develops improved hydrometallurgical processes to extract, purify and valorise metals from low‑grade ores, intermediate products, and mining residues.
Key achievements include:
- High‑efficiency recovery: Bio‑leaching and oxidative leaching of tailings achieved >90% recovery of both nickel and cobalt, with the successful production of high‑purity mixed hydroxide (MHP) and sulfide (MSP) intermediates.
• Innovative smelting routes: Using biochar from nutshells as a reductant significantly improved Ni/Co recovery. Up to 99% for Ni and 76% for Co using biochar compared to 92% for Ni and 45% for Co using coke, thus offering a fossil‑free and more efficient alternative.
• HCl‑based process scale‑up: KU Leuven upscaled a new hydrochloric acid process for ferronickel and laterite ores, enabling production of battery‑grade MHP.
• Mineral residue valorisation: VITO developed three routes to convert leaching residues into construction materials. Notably, CO₂‑assisted carbonation of ferronickel slags produced strong paving elements, now advancing to TRL 6 with two patents filed.
• Environmental and economic assessment: LCA and techno‑economic studies show clear environmental benefits for HCl‑processed ferronickel and promising economics for laterites, despite higher OPEX due to input material cost and CAPEX for corrosion‑resistant equipment.
ENICON demonstrates that low‑grade European resources can contribute meaningfully to a secure, circular and sustainable nickel‑cobalt supply chain.
GIGAGREEN: Greener, Digitalised Gigafactory Manufacturing
The GIGAGREEN project aims to build sustainable, cost‑competitive gigafactory processes in Europe. It focuses on solvent‑free or water‑based electrode manufacturing, dry processing, digitalisation tools and improved cell designs.
Highlights from the project:
- Fully solvent‑free ambition: The project targets 0% VOCs, lower CO₂ emissions per kWh, and competitive production using LMO high‑voltage cathodes and silicon‑rich anodes.
• Materials and binder innovation: Extensive optimisation of fluorine‑free and water‑processable binders enabled improved rheology, coating quality and mechanical stability.
• Dry‑processing breakthroughs: Experiments on dry‑processed anodes demonstrated significantly improved performance when changing current collectors and refining processing parameters.
• Laser texturing: Structured current collectors and electrodes delivered up to 15% higher specific capacity, powered by EU‑based laser technologies (LIPSS and DLIP).
• Digital twin for process optimisation: CETIM developed an interactive web‑based digital twin allowing operators to test manufacturing scenarios virtually and reduce trial‑and‑error on pilot lines.
• Towards scalable cells: After promising half‑cell performance, GIGAGREEN shifted to monolayer and double‑coated cells to solve early full‑cell bottlenecks. The final large-format demonstrator will be produced before project end.
A sustainability assessment showed that producing cells in Europe—thanks to cleaner electricity mixes—can reduce manufacturing‑related global warming impacts by around 60% compared with China. GIGAGREEN thus combines manufacturing innovation with clear environmental gains.
Transensus LCA: Harmonising Environmental and Social Assessment
Transensus LCA is a coordination and support action (CSA) focused on developing a consensus‑based environmental and social lifecycle assessment (LCA/S-LCA) methodology for zero‑emission road transport. Rather than generating new technologies, it delivers harmonised guidance for all stakeholders—from OEMs to researchers and regulators.
Its main outputs include:
- A comprehensive European LCA/S‑LCA guideline, covering environmental impacts, social impacts, reporting rules and future research needs.
• An ontology and data‑management structure enabling a future European-wide LCA inventory for battery and vehicle technologies.
• State‑of‑the‑art reviews, validation studies and transferability assessments to ensure broad applicability.
• A robust consensus‑building process, involving beneficiaries, industry advisory boards, scientific experts, and consultation groups across Europe.
• Road‑testing of the methodology, including both public case studies and confidential OEM‑internal testing to capture real-world constraints.
The project also identified remaining research needs, including improved traceability of electricity sources, updated impact categories (such as particulate emissions), harmonisation for vehicle‑to‑grid allocation, and better social impact pathways. Transensus LCA provides the methodological foundation Europe needs for consistent sustainability reporting and future regulatory frameworks.
