ATENA+

A European initiative for the future of energy storage

As Europe’s energy system transitions toward more renewable sources, the need for efficient and sustainable energy‑storage solutions is growing. Sodium‑ion batteries are emerging as a promising alternative to lithium‑ion technology, thanks to sodium’s abundance, lower cost, and suitability for stationary applications. ATENA+ will demonstrate how the technology can be scaled up and deployed in real‑world environments.

The project is funded by the EU’s research programme Horizon Europe and runs from January 2025 to December 2028. With nearly 7 million euros in support, the consortium is working to develop the entire value chain for sodium‑ion batteries, from raw materials to system‑level demonstration.

A comprehensive approach to sodium‑ion batteries

ATENA+ takes a holistic approach to the development of sodium‑ion batteries. The work includes:

• raw‑material processing and electrode development
• cell manufacturing and process upscaling
• advanced performance and safety testing
• design of modules and battery‑management systems
• system validation in five different use cases within stationary storage and short‑range vehicles

European collaboration between leading actors

The consortium consists of 13 partners from across Europe, where research institutes, industrial companies, and innovation organisations work together to drive development: CIDETEC (Spain), Saft (France), Topsoe Battery Materials A/S (Denmark), Stora Enso (Finland/Sweden), E‑Lyte (Germany), Iberdrola (Spain), ZSW (Germany), RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, SEEL Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory (Sweden), VITO (Belgium), LCE (Italy), ICONS Innovation Strategies (Italy), and Engreen SRL (Italy).

Together, they aim to strengthen the European value chain and accelerate electrification and the green transition.