Corvus participates in EU HYDRA battery development project

The HYDRA project intends to accelerate the development of hybrid electrode technology to develop the next generation of sustainable, low-cost, energy-dense Li-ion batteries for transportation applications.

Corvus Energy is one of the 12 participants in the project, which is being coordinated by SINTEF. The participants are drawn from along the battery value chain, including the UK’s Johnson Matthey and Norway’s Elkem, as well as a number of research institutes and universities.

“High-performance and affordable electric mobility is a cornerstone technology for reducing air pollution in cities and enabling the future of the Green Transition,” says Dr. Simon Clark, Research Scientist and project coordinator from SINTEF. “The cost and lifetime of electric vehicles are largely determined by the battery pack, which can be heavy and expensive. HYDRA is developing advanced battery materials, cell designs, and manufacturing methods to address these challenges in a sustainable way.”

Corvus Energy’s primary contribution and project focus will be advanced battery characterisation as well as performance and lifetime modelling.

“We are humble to be recognized as one of the battery technology experts in such a prestigious research project and we are excited to work alongside the other project partners,” says Lars Ole Valøen, Chief Technology Officer at Corvus Energy. “By collecting high level expertise from across the value chain to collaborate on such a comprehensive scope, will create the momentum needed to accelerate the development towards the next generation batteries free of critical raw materials.”

Valøen continues: “For Corvus, this means we can shorten the time to market for more sustainable, higher performing batteries at a lower cost for our customers. We will also be able to further develop advanced characterization methods and cell modelling framework which will improve battery sizing algorithms and lifecycle analysis for our systems in addition to improved services through our customer portal.”

The Motorship notes that the project includes aspects of Europe’s critical raw materials and circular economy strategic objectives: the project is expected to eliminate cobalt and natural graphite, and lower overall critical raw materials exposure by over 85%.

Another project participant, Elkem, is currently constructing a pilot plant for battery graphite in Kristiansand, Norway. The pilot plant is expected to open in early 2021.

“HYDRA is an important project to progress sustainable manufacturing of next generation battery materials in Europe, and Elkem is pleased to contribute,” says Stian Madshus, Vice President of Elkem Battery Materials. “This effort fits well with Elkem’s activities to supply solutions to the battery industry and the EV market, including graphite for anodes, silicon for tomorrow’s anodes and silicone solutions for battery packs and modules.”

The project kicked off 16 September 2020 and is expected to run until 2024.