The possibility of having electric cars capable of traveling much longer distances, homes able to be self-sufficient in energy, or mobile phones and laptops that require fewer recharges depends directly on developing more efficient, stable, and longer-lasting batteries. In this context, CIC energiGUNE, a leading Basque research center in electrochemical and thermal energy storage and conversion, has taken a decisive step to accelerate the arrival of these technologies to the market.
Thanks to the integrated application of advanced computational modeling methodologies, the center is now able to predict battery performance and degradation even before physically manufacturing them in the laboratory. This breakthrough makes it possible to identify in advance the strengths and weaknesses of new materials and configurations, reducing the number of experimental tests required.
“This integrated strategy opens the door to significantly accelerating the development of new batteries, reducing the volume of experimentation and considerably shortening the time between design and prototype manufacturing,” said Dr. Javier Carrasco, head of the Modeling and Computational Studies Group and leader of the project.
To make this progress possible, the team used quantum chemistry tools and advanced simulations that allow the analysis of how atoms and electrons behave within materials. This approach, combined with electrochemical, thermal, and mechanical models developed at the center, “provides a solid framework for anticipating which compounds and configurations are the most promising, stable, and sustainable for future batteries and other energy storage systems,” explained Oier Arcelus, researcher in the group.
This methodological breakthrough represents a key tool for addressing one of the battery industry’s main challenges: understanding and mitigating degradation mechanisms from the very beginning, even before the first prototypes are manufactured.
According to Montse Casas, Scientific Director of CIC energiGUNE, “if we want electric cars that can travel more kilometers per charge or mobile phones that we don’t have to plug in every day, we must speed up the way we design batteries. And that is precisely what computational simulation enables us to do: anticipate how a battery will perform even before manufacturing it. This capability reduces years of research, avoids hundreds of experimental tests, and brings these improvements to citizens much more quickly.”
With these capabilities, CIC energiGUNE positions itself among Europe’s leading centers in the use of multiscale simulation for the design of next-generation materials and components, strengthening its role as a key technological partner for companies, industry, and innovation stakeholders.
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