Articles on batteries

Do you manufacture or sell products containing batteries on the European market? If so, the EU Battery Regulation affects you. These regulations are more comprehensive than previous legislation, setting requirements that cover the entire battery life cycle. Three experts explain the rules.

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology allows energy from an electric vehicle to be sent back to the grid. This can benefit businesses and individuals, as well as society as a whole. The challenge now is to get all the technical solutions and new business models in place to enable commercial deployment.

The energy system of the future is based on batteries. But while other countries and regions have secured the entire chain – from raw material to finished product – Europe has lost momentum and is struggling with failed investments. How can we reverse this trend?

More and more individuals and property owners are investing in solar panels, and the market is growing rapidly. Patrik Ollas, researcher at RISE and former industrial PhD student at Chalmers, published his thesis on battery storage and solar energy in the spring, looking at new opportunities for the technology.

As the green transition accelerates, the need for energy storage is increasing. Hydrogen storage and batteries are seen as particularly important technologies. Building an energy storage facility is a big investment - but there are also opportunities to save and make money.

Batteries are essential for the transition to a fossil-free society. They are already used in millions of consumer products, but also for various industrial applications - and demand is expected to increase. Sweden is well placed to become a leading battery nation. "But to do so, we need a common arena for sharing information and costs. Once this is in place, the entrepreneurs will come," says Dina Dedic at RISE.

Over the past year, RISE, in collaboration with Uppsala universitet, Chalmers tekniska högskola and Blue Institute, as part of the SweBIC project, has investigated the feasibility of establishing a national technological infrastructure for battery cell and material production, with the goal of supporting the growth of the Swedish battery industry. The study's findings have now been released in a final report.

Electric vehicles and fire risk have been a hot topic in recent years. One thing is clear – more knowledge is needed in this area, and testing is an important part of filling the knowledge gap. In the explosion proof laboratory in Borås, Sweden, today's and tomorrow's batteries are put through their paces, both figuratively and literally.

Increased use of batteries is crucial for electrification, but the metals they contain also pose problems: difficult to obtain, often found in conflict zones – and ultimately difficult to break down. Swedish company Ligna Energy solves the entire problem by manufacturing batteries from completely new raw materials: residual products from the forest.

RISE’s new test facility in Borås will affirm Sweden’s position as a leader in vehicle safety. This is where the batteries of the future will be shocked, shaken and pushed to extreme temperatures in a controlled environment. “The safety lab is due to be inaugurated in the second half of 2023 and will be internationally unique”, says Director of Total Defence Franz Evegren.

Access to fossil-free electricity. Industrial expertise. A clear strategy. Moving forwards, Sweden is well equipped to become a leading European battery nation. According to experts at RISE, we now need more testbeds, faster mining permit processes and easier routes to investment in the battery value chain.