The European Union has given the green light to the French government to support an R&D project in co-operation with Prologium, a Taiwanese energy innovation company that develops solid-state batteries.
Prologium was founded in 2006 and the company has already provided nearly 8,000 sample cells to car manufacturers for testing and module development. In 2022 ProLogium got access to IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Projects) on batteries. It holds more than 600 patents on solid-state batteries.
Margrethe Vestager, the Danish executive vice president of the European Commission in charge of competition policy, said the €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) in funding enables France to support ProLogium’s research project. It consists of three parts:
- developing the present generation of solid-state batteries to overcome limitations connected with lithium-ion batteries
- introducing a new generation of batteries with higher energy density and better sustainability
- working out new procedures for recycling.
The project reflects the new trend that the EU will search international cooperation to ramp up R&D on electrical batteries.
Prologium’s technology is based on an SiOx anode and a Li metal anode. The company claims that it has solved the problems with conductivity and brittle issues of the oxide electrolyte. Another important feature of the batteries is the innovative solid-state battery packaging model.
The company recently announced its plans do set up a 48 GWh gigafactory in Dunkirk, northern France. The total investment is estimated at €5.2 billion ($5.7 billion). The factory will create 3,000 jobs in the region and will be its first large-scale solid-state battery manufacturing plant outside Asia.
“The approval of this substantial grant is a testament to Prologium’s potential contribution to achieving net zero in France and Europe, as well as the value of our innovative solutions,” said Vincent Yang, founder and CEO. The project will last until 2029.
Photo: Prologium Taoke demonstration line
