Read about the achievements of the Battery Innovation Days 2023!

23 November 2023

The third edition of the Battery Innovation Days (BID), took place on 14 and 15 November 2023 in Bordeaux, France. Revolving around the theme of “fostering a competitive and sustainable European battery value chain”, the event saw the participation of more than 1400 delegates (online and onsite), representing key actors driving the progress in the battery industry. The Battery Innovation Days serves as a premier platform for dialogue among the research community, policy makers, industry players, and end-users, driving the deployment of cuttingedge technologies in battery materials, cell design, manufacturing, and recycling.

A dialogue that is very much needed as stressed by Johan Blondelle, Policy Officer, European Commission, DG RTD.

“BID is very relevant as it brings stakeholders together, it provides an excellent opportunity to seek synergies between what is happening in the different funding schemes, at national and international level. But it is more than just that, it also covers the policy aspect and provides a bigger picture. From that perspective, it occupies a unique space among the other numerous battery events across the world.”

During two days, more than 1400 attendees, among them 350 onsite and over 1000 online had the opportunity to learn from 60 world-renowned experts about how we can foster a competitive and sustainable European battery value chain.

On the agenda we saw debates on:

• The role gigafactories have in accelerating battery development
• The BATT4EU vision and ambition
• Electric Mobility and the research needs for its wider deployment
• How next-generation cells will revolutionise the industry
•  Self-healing batteries as the technology to enhance batteries durability, safety, and
  overall efficiency
• The Critical Raw Materials Act for a circular battery value chain
• The advancements in Na-ion batteries

The key takeaway from this edition of the BIDs is that R&I, industrial development and regulatory updates all feed into each other, sometimes as intended (gigafactories as engines for R&I acceleration) and sometimes in ways that are unforeseen (production goals put into doubt by sustainability rules or CRM targets). Continuous interactions between the spheres of industry, R&I and policy are therefore crucial in establishing a competitive European value chain in Europe and the BIDs will be at the centre of this in the years to come. The co-organisers of the BID event, BEPA, Batteries Europe, Battery 2030+ and the two IPCEI have publicly presented their new common visual identity showing reinforced collaboration and alignment as a community. Their joint booth saw the tagline of ”The European Batteries R&I Community”

“It is a remarkable achievement to have 4 initiatives in the battery world to join forces
towards a common goal. Our new umbrella logo translates this vision of a community
sharing the same ambition. ” said Micheal Lippert, Director at SAFT, Vice President at EASE,
Chairman of the Board at Batteries Europe and President of BEPA

BID honours academic excellence and scientific advancements in battery research through their Battery Young Researcher Award. A competition between PhD students to award the best battery related thesis. The winner of this edition Romain Wernert, who represented University of Bordeaux, won an award, a cash prize and a speaking slot to present his thesis titled ‘’Crystal chemistry and redox mechanisms of vanadium phosphates and Prussian blue analogues for K-ion batteries”. Beyond the discussions, attendees had the chance to interact with 25 different exhibitors, and gained valuable insights during their site visit to ACC, a key R&D centre and forged connections with regional players from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region. The next edition of the BID will take place in autumn 2024, the event is set to be bigger and better to consolidate this community and to make this event among the leading ones in Europe.