National Institute of Chemistry Achieves Great Success at a Call for Proposals for European Funds
[Translate to English:] Dr. Robert Dominko, koordinator velikega evropskega projekta
At the call for proposals within the Seventh Framework Programme of the EU, the National Institute of Chemistry and its partners were granted a total of EUR 3.9 million for their project aimed at electric vehicle development. This is an important recognition of Slovenian know-how and the first example of a European project in the public-private partnership field being coordinated by a Slovenian.
The aim of the project is to develop an electric vehicle battery with three to four times the capacity and half the price of the existing batteries. This new generation of lithium-sulphur batteries will replace the Li-ion batteries currently in use and enable electric vehicles to cover 500 km on a single charge.
The project brings together seven research institutions and universities from Slovenia, France, Germany, Sweden and Italy, the Slovenian Centre of Excellence for Low-Carbon Technologies research and industry consortium (CoE LCT) and four European industry partners (Renault, Volvo Technologies, SAFT and Solvionic). The total project value is EUR 3.9 million, of which the European Commission will provide EUR 2.8 million.
Commenting on their success, project coordinator Dr. Robert Dominko said that it is a significant achievement for an industrial project within the Seventh Framework Programme; these types of projects are usually ideal for large corporations. The project received the best evaluations in the public-private partnership category in the fields of nanoscience, nanotechnology, materials and new production technologies.