The ZABAT Project, a pioneering initiative led by Leitat, recently held a pivotal consortium meeting at Politechnika Wrocławska (PWR) Poland, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of next-generation rechargeable and sustainable zinc-air batteries. These batteries are intended for energy storage applications in both industry and households, coupled with renewables, with the aim of developing a critical material-free energy storage system.
The project’s ambition is to leverage the potential of technology based on abundant zinc (Zn), thereby reducing the use of critical raw materials (CRMs) such as lithium, natural graphite, and cobalt, while promoting the circular economy.
This gathering brought together four key partners: Leitat from Spain, SINTEF from Norway, Fraunhofer from Germany, and PWR from Poland. We are grateful to PWR for making our stay valuable, especially the Department of Process Engineering and Technology of Polymer and Carbon Materials, represented by Professor Grażyna Gryglewicz.
The consortium is getting closer to its overall aim of developing new multi-functional battery materials and components for rechargeable zinc-air batteries. The final objective is to develop and validate the ZABAT cell prototype with specific and ambitious capacities at the Wh/kg level, as well as demonstrating a high level of uninterrupted hours of operation. The ZABAT zinc-air technology is based on scalable and environmentally friendly material and component fabrication processes, using sustainable and EU-available raw materials.
More specifically, during the general assembly, the progress has been:
• Developed porous self-standing Zn electrodes with high Zn utilization, coulombic efficiency, and cycle life.
These electrodes have shown remarkable stability and performance in preliminary tests.
• Development of a hydrogel electrolyte system, that has been performing over expectations for mechanical properties. Requires electrochemical performance evaluation at battery usage
This system enhances ionic conductivity and mechanical stability overall battery efficiency.
• Progress on the multiscale modelling, a combination of thermodynamic and continuum modelling can help screen electrolyte materials and predict cell-level performance.
This approach allows for more accurate simulations and optimizations.
• Developed novel cost-effective printed gas diffusion electrode.
This innovation reduces production costs while maintaining high performance and durability.
• Gen1 and Gen2 have been successfully accomplished, and we are aiming towards the final demonstrator.
The final demonstrator will showcase the full potential of the ZABAT technology in real-world applications.
Collaboration and companionship were evident throughout the meeting, as beautifully captured in the following pictures.
