In the pursuit of the EU Green Deal’s carbon neutrality goals, there's an immediate need for advanced energy storage systems. Lithium-metal batteries (LMBs) present a promising solution, offering nearly double the energy density of current Li-ion batteries, although they currently suffer from a reduced cycle life. This is due to the inefficient lithium plating/stripping and the eventual formation of Li dendrites. Current trends in electrolyte engineering for LMBs focus on fluorinated salts and additives, which produce a LiF-rich solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI). However, recent studies suggest that Li2O might be a more desirable SEI component. The NoF-LiME project builds on this change of paradigm by focusing on fluorine-free salts for LMB electrolytes, with the aim of producing a Li2O-rich SEI. The project involves the synthesis and evaluation of novel sulfonimide salts, including the study of the cation-anion interactions in solution and their electrochemical performance. Success in this venture will mark a substantial leap away from the conventional reliance on F-rich compounds, showcasing the potential to formulate more sustainable and environmentally friendly electrolytes for next-generation batteries. Additionally, beyond its scientific contributions, the project will equip the researcher, Dr. Juan Forero-Saboya, with a distinctive skill set in battery electrolyte research and development, complementary to his current expertise. Guiding the NoF-LiME project is a team of recognized experts in the field with complementary knowledge: Dr. Montserrat Casas-Cabanas at CIC energiGUNE in Spain (specializing in cathode materials), Prof. Betar Gallant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (experienced in SEI analysis and quantification), and Prof. Alexis Grimaud at Boston College (expert in battery electrolyte formulation and assessment).

The EU’s notion to become climate neutral in 2050, as per the EU Green Deal, strives to transform the economy through advancements in clean renewable energy. While rechargeable Li-ion batteries sustain the current market for energy storage, they cannot continue to achieve the transformative scale of improvement required due to the finite supply of lithium, and their limited energy storage capacities, among others. Sodium-air batteries (NaBs) provide an attractive alternative due to the abundance of sodium – thus low cost – and their lightweight porous air cathodes to reach greater energy densities. Today’s traditional electrolytes are unstable towards Na metal and radical species generated during cycling, allowing oxygen crossover to the anode, which results in battery failure. Moreover, their liquid nature leads to evaporation and leakage issues. OXBLOLYTE Postdoctoral Fellowship will overcome these challenges by developing novel solid-state electrolytes based on Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity membranes combined with conducting Organic Ionic Plastic Crystal materials. In parallel to these practical concerns, OXBLOLYTE will unravel mechanistic understanding of solid-state NaBs– a field currently unexplored - to allow the correct choice of electrolyte. The research fellow, Dr. Yahia (with expertise in polymer membranes), will conduct the OXBLOLYTE project at CIC energiGUNE (Spain) with the host supervisor, Dr. Ortiz-Vitoriano (pioneer in the relevant research field) which includes mechanical property studies under the supervisor of Dr. Sardon (with expertise in polymers) at Polymat (Spain). OXBLOLYTE facilitates the transfer of 3 I’s knowledge whilst diversifying Dr. Yahia’s networks and leadership skills to further advance his career perspectives and employability. As a result, OXBLOBLYTE will lead to research outputs that will be disseminated to the general public, scientific community and industry with the final aim to enlarge its exploitation potential.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is the leading separation technology in research and industry, which often relies on potentially hazardous and environmentally harmful organic solvents. Water is the ideal environmentally friendly mobile phase, which would open the way to green HPLC. However, its broad applicability is hindered by the phenomenon of dewetting of the stationary phase – the formation of bubbles in the hydrophobic nanoporous material – which makes it unavailable to the substances that need to be separated (“retention loss”). NODRY proposes to develop a unique, experimentally validated simulation testbed based on the PI expertise in theory and simulation of dewetting of nanopores acquired in ERC-StG HyGate. These simulation tools will be deployed to rationally design HPLC protocols capable of eliminating or alleviating the problem of dewetting in most HPLC columns operating with pure water as the solvent, thus opening the way to a green and energy efficient chromatography.

Materials for sUstainable Sodium Ion Capacitors (MUSIC) is an Horizon Europe project (HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-24, GA: 101092080) that aims to provide a solution to the need of a new supercapacitor technology that reaches energy density comparable to that of power batteries, but still recharges within few seconds and offers long cycle life with minimum efficiency loss over time. MUSIC will fabricate SIC prototype cells and will develop a 12V module prototype that incorporates an innovative management system to monitor the SoC, SoH, SoP of individual cells. The main objective of MUSIC-HOP-ON is to reinforce EU autonomy by enabling a fully European production for all the materials incorporated in MUSIC prototypes. The Estonian SME, UPC, will bring to the ongoing MUSIC consortia its knowledge and research to produce HC from wood biomass, charcoal or lignin, effectively repurposing products with low economic value. By opening high value applications to so far underused biomass that can be sourced within European industry, gaining independency from Asian suppliers. This reduces the need for imported raw materials, significantly increasing European independence in the field of batteries, and promoting a resilient and circular economy (Horizon Europe Cluster 4, Key Strategic Objective C and D). Further, UPC utilizes CO2 byproduct from biomethane factories to produce CNTs, thereby significantly reducing the CO2 footprint in MUSIC project. This innovative approach helps in the efficient utilization of industrial waste and contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in MUSIC project. MUSIC-HOP-ON would contribute to WIDERA outcomes by involving an SME from Estonia, a country underrepresented in Horizon Europe, while UPC will gain knowledge and capabilities accessing to an ongoing MUSIC project that is working to develop a full European sustainable SIC value chain. UPC will request a budget of 386,250€, plus 10% for the coordinator management activities.