Last August, experts from Edith Cowan University (Australia) published the results of research with promising advances in new versions of rechargeable zinc-air bacteria (ZAB). This technology could become in the future an alternative with less environmental impact and more energy efficiency to current lithium-ion or lithium polymer batteries, the most used in wide-range applications such as electric cars.
The innovative zinc-air technology is a new front in the great international competition involved in battery research and development, a race in which the European Union is trying to gain positions. A challenge that is being faced with projects such as the one led by the Leitat technology center, with its main headquarters in Terrassa.
"The European Union has realized that there is a problem: there is no industrial fabric for battery development in Europe," explains Marc Belenguer Rizo, a researcher at Leitat, one of the few technology centers in Catalonia and Spain that is working on the development of new batteries, including air-zinc ones.
"Asia already has more than 70% of the global battery market," explains Marc Belenguer, citing recently published reports. To improve its positioning, the EU is supporting battery development through several innovative initiatives.
"With this program, the development of batteries for automobiles and stationary batteries is being promoted; and within the stationary batteries we find zinc-air batteries, a type of battery that would represent a revolution at the European level thanks to its main benefits," he highlights. Marc Belenguer.
One of the main advantages of zinc-air technology "is its reduced economic cost, compared to traditional lithium technologies, which is very important for the EU's commitment to affordable energy," says this expert. "Secondly, they are environmentally friendly, as they do not use any toxic or dangerous materials, and, thirdly, they are recyclable, which is in line with the EU's circular economy objectives by not using materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel or manganese," details Marc Belenguer.
Despite this, although it has many advantages, this zinc-air technology has great challenges such as its low useful life, high flammability if they are not designed well, high flammability if the batteries are not well designed, as well as having a
difficulty in making rechargeable batteries.
To advance in the solution of this type of problems and ensure that the European Union is placed in prominent positions in this new technology, the ZABAT research project has been launched, led by the Leitat technology center, and which has funding from the European Union under the M-ERA.NET program and the Government of Spain. "In the ZABAT program we are developing a zinc-air battery prototype that allows energy to be stored with a large useful life capacity without using critical raw materials," explains Marc Belenguer.
"This battery will allow the creation of stationary warehouses where energy from renewable sources such as wind or solar can be stored so that they can be used during off-peak times such as nighttime," says this Leitat researcher and coordinator of the ZABAT project.
The ZABAT project has the support and support of a consortium made up of five entities from Norway, Germany and Poland (SINTEF, Fraunhofer, Politechnika Wroclawska and HERAEUS). "Once the project is completed, we will have a much more mature zinc-air technology that will bring the European Union closer to its climate objectives, reducing its dependence on imported energy, improving air quality and creating quality employment," he points out. Marc Belenguer.
More information about the ZABAT project on social networks Linkedin and X (Twitter)
