The ISSP UL’s leading researcher from the Laboratory of Materials for Energy Harvesting and Storage, Dr. phys. Gints Kučinskis participated in Ulm Electrochemical Talks (UECT) 2023 conference in Ulm, Germany, from June 14 to June 15 and visited Mario Marinaro, a team leader at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) (Germany).
During the meeting, Gints Kučinskis discussed the current research at ISSP UL and ZSW and possible collaboration in two European projects – Twinning Green Deal and Horizon Europe HORIZON-CL5-2024-D2-01-02 Non-Li Sustainable Batteries with European Supply Chains for Stationary Storage (Batt4EU Partnership). The feedback from Mario Marinaro was positive, and it was agreed to continue the discussion about a joint Twinning Green Deal research project with ISSP UL, ZSW and Uppsala University (discussion to take place in early July). The main obstacle to participation in the HORIZON-CL5-2024-D2-01-02 call (deadline in April 2024) was the lack of resources for coordinating the submission and execution of such a large project. Both sides will return to discussing this topic after the deadline for the Twinning proposal submission in late September. The most feasible next step identified was contacting a university with a large project management office to team with, such as Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.
At the conference, Gints Kučinskis listened to many interesting talks, including those from researchers and engineers from Daimler Truck, VARTA Microbattery, ACC, P3 and others, and researchers from ZSW and TU Munich. This provided a good overview of the current industry and research trends. This knowledge will be reflected in future research at ISSP UL. Several interesting discussions with leading researchers and European industry took place, including with Dr. Nicholas Bucher (VARTA Microbattery), Dr. Peter Axmann and Dr. Thomas Waldmann (ZSW) and many more, discussing upcoming M-Era.net project InCoatBat and possibly other pathways for collaboration.
The Ulm Electrochemical Talks 2023 brought together scientists and engineers from the entire field of batteries, hydrogen, and fuel cells. The conference topics ranged from innovative materials, components, modeling and simulation, production and processes to systems and safety.
