The REBELION Consortium has just wrapped up the 16th-month General Assembly of the REBELION project, hosted by our new partner, the Technical University of Košice (TUKE), in Slovakia.

During the meeting, partners had the opportunity to tour TUKE’s state-of-the-art facilities, including the Robotics Lab, Innovation Centre, and H2 Lab, gaining insight into the cutting-edge technologies being developed.

The two-day event featured presentations on the progress of key work packages, financial updates, and workshops. ICONS led a workshop on intellectual property and project exploitation, sparking discussions on the next steps for maximizing impact.

The REBELION project recently received media attention as the local Spanish TV channel À Punt featured a report on the project’s pilot dismantling line for electric vehicle batteries. The segment, broadcast last Friday, highlighted the important work being carried out at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and was presented by Raquel Vilanova Martinez, one of the project’s key team members from UPV.

The report showcased the innovative battery recycling processes being developed within the REBELION project, which aim to make battery recycling more efficient and affordable. By advancing sustainable solutions for electric vehicle batteries, the project is contributing to the circular economy and addressing critical environmental challenges.

Watch the full report here: À Punt TV Report

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The Nanophotonics Technology Institute (NTC) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) recently hosted an internal webinar to showcase the REBELION project, spearheaded by UPV’s coordinator, Guillermo Sanchez Plaza. The session focused on the project’s cutting-edge approach to automating the disassembly of lithium batteries from electric vehicles and repurposing them for renewable energy storage systems.

The REBELION project aims to extend the lifecycle of lithium batteries by converting them into second-life stationary batteries. This process, which involves automating battery disassembly, is designed to reduce costs and environmental impact while enhancing energy storage solutions. The webinar provided an overview of the project’s pilot line, which will handle battery reception, cell separation, and integration with photovoltaic panels.

The discussion emphasized the project’s potential to support renewable energy storage, stabilize the electricity grid, and offer economic and environmental benefits through innovative battery reuse techniques.

Cover image by Judit Peter on Pexels.

The European Union recently introduced a comprehensive regulation aimed at improving the sustainability, circularity and safety of batteries, particularly lithium-ion batteries, which play a key role in the transition to clean energy and sustainable mobility. This new regulation addresses the entire lifecycle of batteries, including production, usage, and recycling, marking a significant step toward achieving the EU’s climate neutrality goal by 2050.

Key Changes and Targets

Under this new regulation, starting in 2025, electric vehicle batteries, rechargeable industrial batteries and batteries used in light transport (like e-bikes and scooters) must comply with strict carbon footprint requirements. The regulation also places limits on harmful substances and promotes the use of recycled materials. For example, from 2027, batteries must contain specific minimum amounts of recycled content: 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, 6% for lithium, and 6% for nickel​.

Moreover, the regulation introduces recycling efficiency targets to ensure that valuable materials, including lithium, are recovered and reused, reducing dependence on raw material imports from outside the EU. The policy also requires companies to address environmental and social risks in the supply chain, especially for critical materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite​.

Empowering Consumers

To help consumers make more informed choices, batteries will soon feature labels with key information and a QR code leading to a digital passport with the battery’s specifications, including performance and recyclability. Additionally, consumers will have the right to remove and replace the batteries in their electronic products, extending product lifecycle and reducing post-consumer waste​.

A Strategic Approach to Current Challenges

In line with these regulations, the European Battery Alliance recently discussed a new action plan to reflect the current geopolitical context, focusing on diversifying supply chains, scaling up raw and processed material production within the EU and reducing strategic dependencies. The alliance is reinforcing Europe’s position as a leader in the sustainable battery value chain, aiming to address market needs, innovation, and investment in the sector to support the green and digital transition.

These regulations and initiatives underline the EU’s commitment to a circular economy and strategic autonomy in battery production and use. They not only encourage the sustainable use of resources but also strengthen Europe’s economic resilience in the face of global challenges.

These new regulations underscore the EU’s commitment to a circular economy and strategic autonomy in battery production and use. More detailed information is available in  the official EU documents here​.

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We are excited to announce that some partners of the REBELION project will be attending the 4th edition of the Battery Innovation Days on November 26-27, 2024, in Barcelona, Spain, and online. This two-day hybrid event, co-organized by key European Research & Innovation initiatives, will bring together leading experts in the battery sector to discuss the latest advancements and innovations in the field.

As batteries play a critical role in enabling the EU’s transition to a carbon-neutral society, the REBELION project team looks forward to participating in this important dialogue on sustainable and cutting-edge battery technologies.

Stay tuned for more updates on our involvement!

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BEPA (Batteries European Partnership Association) in collaboration with Batteries Europe has drafted five critical position papers addressing essential topics for advancing the European battery value chain. These papers cover areas such as sustainability, digitalisation, and safety, providing valuable insights and recommendations.

To delve deeper into these topics, join the upcoming in-depth workshops scheduled for June:

Task Force Safety and Task Force Education
Date: Tuesday, June 18
Time: 9.30 – 12.30 CET

Task Force Digitalisation and Task Force Hybridisation
Date: Thursday, June 20
Time: 9.30 – 12.30 CET

Task Force Sustainability and Task Force Social Sciences and Humanities
Date: Monday, June 24
Time: 14.00 – 17.00 CET

Explore the position papers here and register for the workshops here. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with key stakeholders and contribute to shaping the future of the European battery value chain!

Exciting news emerges from the forefront of robotics research as a team of visionary scientists, including Ali Aflakian, Alireza Rastegarpanah, Jamie Hathaway, and Rustam Stolkin, unveil their latest innovation in a paper titled “An online hyper-volume action bounding approach for accelerating the process of deep reinforcement learning from multiple controllers.”

Published on April 28, 2024, and accessible via DOI link here, this pioneering work merges concepts from reinforcement learning (RL), Learning from Demonstration (LfD), and Ensemble Learning into a unified paradigm. The crux lies in utilizing knowledge from a diverse set of control algorithms to streamline the action space of an agent, thereby expediting the refinement of a control policy through deep reinforcement learning.

The significance of this approach extends to its ability to enhance the efficiency of reinforcement learning in tasks involving continuous action spaces, as showcased in the context of a visual servoing (VS) task. By employing various methods for bounding the actions of the RL agent during training, including hypercube and convex hull techniques, the researchers demonstrate accelerated learning and optimal solution attainment.

Moreover, their experiments reveal faster convergence of VS error while maintaining higher manipulability of the robot arm compared to traditional methods, signaling a paradigm shift in robotic control methodologies.

This research not only advances the frontiers of robotics but also holds promise for real-world applications, paving the way for more agile and adaptive autonomous systems. Stay tuned for further updates as the REBELION project continues to drive innovation in robotics and beyond.

Cover image by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Press release, 04/03/2024

The vast scale of worldwide waste generation presents a significant challenge to climate change, biodiversity, and environmental pollution. Statistics indicate an annual production of 2.1 to 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste, with a mere 61–62% undergoing proper management. Navigating the realms of sustainable consumption, production, and optimizing waste handling processes have become imperative for advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In recognition of the waste crisis, the United Nations General Assembly declared 30 March as the International Day of Zero Waste in 2022. This annual observance calls upon member States, organizations, civil society, the private sector, and various stakeholders to participate in activities promoting sustainable practices, advancing the transition to circular economies, and fostering awareness of the pivotal role played

by zero-waste initiatives.

Taking an active stance within the realm of circular economy projects, REBELION is set to actively engage in the International Day of Zero Waste 2024. This involvement includes a collaborative social media campaign featuring partnerships with K-CCRI, Woodcircles, Reconstruct, Agro2Circular, Plastice, ViSS, B-ferst, Cultivate, and REBELION projects.

The campaign, titled #CircularWasteEU, predominantly comprises succinct videos featuring project coordinators or partners elucidating the pivotal role of circularity in realizing a potentially zero-waste world. These videos explore the distinct methods that each project adopts to tackle broader challenges.

Commencing on 4 March 2024, each project will disseminate the #CircularWasteEU campaign through its respective channels, running until 30 March. The extended timeline facilitates the inclusion of interested parties keen on joining this impactful initiative.

ICONS extends an open invitation to any initiative, project, or company enthusiastic about championing the cause to participate in this collaborative campaign. Together, they aim to amplify the collective impact and further underscore the urgency of embracing circular practices for a sustainable future.

Photo credits: Joel Muniz on Unsplash

Dedicated to giving lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) a second purpose beyond electric mobility, the REBELION project addresses the looming waste management challenge posed by these batteries.

Batteries, including those used within the Volkswagen Group undergo a standard recycling process in collaboration with partners worldwide, recovering valuable materials like nickel, copper, and cobalt. This contributes significantly to sustainable mobility by preserving resources crucial for battery manufacturing. Additionally, as electric vehicle numbers grow, an advanced recycling and reuse strategy will be implemented, ensuring the long-term preservation of the planet’s resources through widespread application.

A key focus of the project meeting was the critical assessment of battery performance, essential for predicting the longevity and efficiency of decommissioned batteries. Understanding the potential for cost-effective second-life applications is vital to shaping sustainable practices in the electric mobility sector.

Funded by the European Union, the REBELION project not only tackles waste management challenges but also underscores the significance of recycling as an environmentally friendly solution for LIBs. Beyond environmental benefits, recycling serves as a valuable economic resource, allowing for the valorization of raw materials within LIBs for further manufacturing.

As the project progresses into its tenth month, the Verona meeting has set the stage for continued collaboration and advancements in sustainable battery management. The REBELION project stands poised to make a lasting impact, paving the way for a greener and economically viable electric mobility future in Europe. For more information, visit REBELION-project.eu.