The prize will be awarded to the entry that best addresses the following cumulative criteria:
1. Provides high standards for safety, sustainability and recyclability
2. Provides the same experience and user convenience, in terms of range and time required to recharge, as a conventional gasoline/diesel car)
3. Has whole-life costs (in terms of battery materials and its functionality) equivalent or better than gasoline/diesel car
4. Demonstrates reliable power delivery without significant loss of performance for an economically acceptable life time (power delivery to be demonstrated for a life time higher than batteries currently available)
5. Ensures that other performance criteria (car acceleration, safety, etc.) are maintained in comparison to a combustion engine powered vehicle
6. Demonstrates a significant advance in new material technologies while avoiding dependence on import materials (e.g. expensive, rare, and unsustainable materials)
Both primary, (non-rechargeable) and secondary, (rechargeable), battery system solutions will be evaluated. The prize will be awarded to the entry that best addresses the following cumulative criteria. Where a criterion does not explicitly mention the battery system, this is applicable to both battery system solutions.
1. Provides high standards for safety, sustainability and recyclability;
a. The battery must be intrinsically safe for the producer, user and the environment. Any issues such as, for example, thermal runaway leading to fire or explosion of the battery should be addressed and eliminated. Any health threat to users, or to workers during the production of the battery, through contact with toxic materials, must be eliminated and this has to be reasonably well demonstrated.
b. Battery materials should be recyclable and easily dismantled. They should be in line with the framework of a circular and green economy, considering recyclability, durability and sustainability.
c. The battery must comply with any regulatory framework in place at the closing date for submission.
2. Provides the same experience and user convenience, in terms of range and time required to recharge, as a conventional gasoline/diesel car;
a. The new battery should allow a driving range of at least 600 km for a standard, state of the art, electric motor driven Euro NCAP small family car.
b. The battery r-eenergizing time should be less than 5 minutes. For a secondary battery “re-energizing” means recharging the battery to full capacity at a recharging point (i.e. not during continuous charging as for example through induction or overhead-line charging in the street). Re-energizing should not adversely affect the life time and quality of the battery. For primary batteries re-energising means replacement of the spent battery with a fully charged one at a re-charging station (similar to the process of refuelling a vehicle at a petrol station forecourt)
c. The battery should allow a performance envelope of the electric powered vehicle that is similar (or better) than a combustion engine powered vehicle, in terms of acceleration, noise, usable temperature range (about -20 to +50 degrees Celsius), use in dry and/or humid conditions, comfort, reliability, under normal road conditions. The battery operating temperature should not hamper the comfort of passengers and should not need the use of energy consuming cooling devices.
3. Has whole-life costs (in terms of battery materials and its functionality) equivalent or better than gasoline/diesel car;
a. The whole life cycle cost, including consideration of CAPEX and OPEX for the battery, should be market competitive. This has to be shown by respective market studies and market forecast. (For a primary battery the analysis should include battery production, distribution, fitting and recycling/disposal costs)
4. Demonstrates reliable power delivery without significant loss of performance for an economically acceptable life time (power delivery to be demonstrated for a life time higher than batteries currently available);
a.For a secondary battery, the life time and quality of the battery should guarantee at least an operation of 5 years under normal operating conditions, with a minimum of maintenance and repair. (Normal operating conditions correspond to e.g. the NEDC (new European Driving Cycle) or similar). Life time should be estimated as well as possible, through modelling, calculations and laboratory based accelerated ageing test procedures according to the state of the art available in 2020. Ageing of the battery should be documented/proven according to the best available methods in 2020 and its result should be in line with the aforementioned requirements. The battery must allow a cyclability (which is understood as a cyclic phase of discharge and full recharge) during normal use that permits the attainment of the quality and life time mentioned above. The battery should have a negligible "memory effect" (deterioration of maximum storage capacity over time) and should be able to be recharged from any point of State of Discharge. The European Commission reserves the right to carry out its own testing by an independent laboratory (e.g. the battery testing laboratory of the JRC) to verify durability/lifetime claims made by the proposers.
b. For a primary battery, a shelf-life of minimum 2 months with negligible leakage of charge should be demonstrated and the swapping mechanism (to be installed in the vehicle) should guarantee a safe and reliable operation for at least 5 years.
5. Ensures that other performance criteria (car acceleration, safety, etc.) are maintained in comparison to a combustion engine powered vehicle,
a. The battery should be reasonably lightweight, in order to allow the mounting in a standard state of the art electric driven Euro NCAP small family car, without necessitating cost intensive weight reduction measures to be applied to the car body, or significant upgrades to breaking and suspension systems to compensate for the additional battery weight.
b. For a secondary battery, it should be demonstrated that when necessary, this is easily accessible and/or dismountable from the electric vehicle for repair
6. Demonstrates a significant advance in new material technologies while avoiding dependence on import materials (e.g. expensive, rare, and unsustainable materials);
a. The battery should, to a great extent, be made of materials available in Europe, using as few as possible rare earths and critical raw materials, or materials that are non-abundant, and not easily available in the EU, in order to avoid materials supply shortage. The materials should be helping to implement a competitive European battery value chain and allow vertical integration in the value chain from the materials to the final electric vehicle
b. The CO2 balance of the production of the battery should be as low as possible and provided through a detailed analysis.