EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities of the Call “Integrating advanced materials, cell design and manufacturing development for high-performance batteries aimed at mobility (Batt4EU Partnership)”

1. Accelerated Access to the EU Single Market

• Direct gateway to 450 + million consumers and the world’s second-largest EV market (EU27), enabling fast commercial roll-out once TRL 7-9 is reached.

• Harmonised product requirements under the forthcoming EU Battery Regulation (mandatory carbon footprint declaration, performance & durability criteria, recycling efficiency) mean that successful RIA results can be replicated in all Member States without country-by-country re-certification.

• Integration into EU public procurement channels (Green Public Procurement for zero-emission buses, rail & aviation ground support equipment) creates early-adopter demand.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Industrial Integration

• Call explicitly encourages adaptation of existing European Gigafactories; consortia can therefore combine

• North-South supply-chain partners (e.g. Finnish or Portuguese critical-raw-material refiners + French/German electrode coaters + Italian pack integrators).

• East-West manufacturing know-how (e.g. Slovak coating lines, Polish module assembly) to close capability gaps.

• Shared pilot lines reduce CAPEX per partner and accelerate learning curves through pan-European knowledge exchange within the Batt4EU Partnership and the European Battery Alliance (EBA250).

• Joint Research Centre (JRC) offers neutral testing & metrology services, providing a common reference that is recognised EU-wide.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

• European Green Deal & Fit-for-55: Solid-state batteries support deep decarbonisation of road transport, aviation and maritime sectors.

• Industrial Strategy Update: Strengthens EU strategic autonomy in advanced batteries—one of the 14 identified industrial ecosystems.

• Digital Europe & EU Data Strategy: Mandatory digitalisation tasks (process control, AI-driven analytics) align with the creation of European manufacturing data spaces.

• Raw Materials Act synergy: Preference for EU-sourced materials directly supports the 10 % domestic extraction and 40 % processing targets for critical raw materials (Li, Si, graphite).

4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Standard-Setting Leadership

• Participation gives consortia a seat at the table in CEN/CENELEC and IEC standardisation working groups via Batt4EU, shaping solid-state safety, transport & recycling standards before global competitors.

• Early compliance with EU Battery Passport requirements ensures smoother product launches and facilitates access to sustainable finance under the EU Taxonomy Regulation.

5. Integration into the European Innovation Ecosystem

• Leverages world-class facilities:

• Fraunhofer & VTT pilot lines, CEA LITEN’s PICTIC platform, IMEC’s solid-state material libraries.

• Access to European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) for secure R&D data sharing.

• Talent pipeline from Erasmus Mundus programmes in battery materials and EIT InnoEnergy Master Schools.

• Synergy with Horizon Europe Missions (Cities, Climate Adaptation) that require high-performance storage solutions.

6. Funding Synergies & Blended Finance Opportunities

• Results can cascade into higher-TRL instruments:

• Horizon Europe Innovation Actions (IA) and Innovation Fund large-scale projects for first-of-a-kind plants.

• Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for cross-border charging infrastructure using solid-state packs.

• EIB venture debt and InvestEU guarantees to de-risk scale-up CAPEX.

• Complementarity with national Recovery & Resilience Plans (RRF) that earmark >€20 bn for e-mobility and battery value chains (e.g. Italy, Spain, Poland).

• Participation strengthens eligibility for future Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on Batteries 3.0.

7. EU-Scale Deployment & Impact Potential

• Aviation & Advanced-Mobility Focus: Premium niche markets (eVTOL, regional aircraft) can serve as EU “lighthouse demonstrators”, validating technology under EASA rules and attracting global customers.

• By 2030 the EU is projected to require >1 TWh of batteries; moving to solid-state at scale could avoid ~100 kt of liquid electrolytes annually, directly supporting the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

• Manufacturing energy-saving targets (≥20 % kWh/cell) will compound across 30+ European Gigafactories, cutting electricity demand equivalent to ~1 GW of baseload generation.

8. Strategic Recommendations to Maximise EU-Wide Value

1. Build a geographically balanced consortium (at least 3 MS/AC) to score highly on Horizon Europe’s excellence & impact criteria and to maximise access to regional pilot lines.

2. Embed a standards work-package to feed results into CEN/CENELEC TC 301 & IEC TC 21, reinforcing EU leadership.

3. Integrate a digital twin platform compliant with GAIA-X principles to future-proof against upcoming EU Data Act requirements.

4. Plan for ESG & Battery Passport compliance from day one; use JRC methodologies to quantify carbon footprint improvements.

5. Map co-funding pathways (Innovation Fund, InvestEU) in the exploitation plan to demonstrate scalability and investor readiness.

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Bottom Line: A project funded under HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D2-04 can leverage the EU’s single market, harmonised regulatory environment and unrivalled battery ecosystem to shorten time-to-market, de-risk scale-up, and position Europe as the global frontrunner in solid-state battery manufacturing for mobility.