Battery Energy Storage Testing

The Battery Energy Storage Testing (BESTEST) laboratory is situated at the Joint Research Centre of Petten (The Netherlands). It features state-of-the-art equipped facilities for analysing performance of battery materials and cells. The capabilities include cell preparation, pre- and post-test battery cell tear-down, cell cycling under controlled temperature (in combination with impedance spectroscopy) and post-mortem diagnosis.

Within the frame of this open access call, the following facilities may be accessed:

• Temperature (or climate) chambers that allow cell storage and cell cycling under controlled temperature (or controlled temperature and humidity). Battery testers with different specifications and frequency response analysers are available for cell cycling.
• A micro X-ray computed tomography system (including data evaluation) is available for analysis of cells or battery electrodes.

Priority topics of BESTEST

1. Performance analysis of cells (in combination with impedance spectroscopy);
2. Micro X-ray computed tomography of cells or electrodes.

Definition and conditions of access

Access to the research infrastructure is granted on the basis of Access Units.

For BESTEST, the Access Unit corresponds to 'Equipment Week', equal to the usage of the following equipment during five (5) working days:

1. Temperature Chambers BiA MTH 4.46 for cell cycling (using a Maccor Bidirectional Battery Tester and FRA, or other electrical testing equipment, where required) ;
2. Climate Chambers Vötsch VCS3 7060-5 for cell cycling (using a Maccor Bidirectional Battery Tester and FRA, or other electrical testing equipment, where required);
3. Micro X-Ray Computed Tomograph Phoenix Nanotom S.

The Equipment Week also includes the evaluation periods, e.g. evaluation of cycling or CT data using dedicated software.

• Estimated total number of Equipment Weeks allocated to the call: 24
• Average number of Equipment Weeks per Project: 6 to 24 Equipment Weeks
• Estimated costs excluding consumables and expenses*:
  • Research infrastructure operated by JRC staff: 448 € / Equipment Week*
  • Research infrastructure operated by users: 341 € / Equipment Week*

The cost of an Equipment Week is factored by the following amounts for the following list of equipment:

• 1 for equipment a);
• 2 for equipment b);
• 5 for equipment c).

* if the total cost of a User Access Project falls below 5,000 €, payment of the access cost can be waived.

The payment of additional costs is waived for User Access Projects where the Lead User Institution and at least 2/3 of all the User Institutions (including the Lead User Institution) are located in a country eligible for the Widening participation and spreading excellence action under the Horizon Europe programme. In case of one or two User Institutions (including the Lead User Institutions), this requirement is only applied to the Lead User Institution.

Support to users for travel and subsistence

The JRC may provide a financial or in-kind contribution to support Users to cover their costs of travel and subsistence (T&S) related to the User Stay Days, subject to the availability of funds, personnel and other resources to Users from User Institutions located in a country eligible for the Widening Partipation and Spreading Excellence actions under the Horizon Europe programme.
Namely the countries are:
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and all Associated Countries with equivalent characteristics in terms of R&I performance (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Tunisia, Ukraine, Faroe Islands) and the Outermost Regions (defined in Art. 349 TFEU).

A User Stay Day is a day of physical presence of a User at the concerned Research Infrastructure for Access related to the User Access Project. A User Stay Day counts as a registered entry to the JRC site where the Research Infrastructure is located.

• Estimated total number of short-term User Stay Days eligible for T&S allocated to the call: 30
• Estimated total number of long-term User Stay Days eligible for T&S allocated to the call: 0

A short-term stay corresponds to a stay of up to 20 User Stay Days.

A long-term stays corresponds to a stay exceeding 20 User Stay Days, up to a maximum of 200 User Stay Days.

For more information on the support offered to users please consult the Rules on the contribution to travel and subsistence expenses of external users.

The Lead User is invited to fill in the User travel and subsistence form and send it to JRC-ENERGY-STORAGEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-ENERGY-STORAGE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) by the closing date of the call. For more information the Lead User may contact the JRC Research Infrastructure at %C2%A0JRC-ENERGY-STORAGEec [dot] europa [dot] eu ( JRC-ENERGY-STORAGE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).

Options for the allocation of intellectual property rights:

• The JRC and the entitled party (person or organisation that has been granted access) become co-owners in equal shares of all raw data, treated data and documentation data developed with respect to the access.

Eligibility criteria

• The Lead User Institution and User Institutions (see definitions in the Framework) must be from an EU Member State, or country associated to the Horizon Europe programme.
• The Lead User Institution must be from a university, research or public institution, or from a Small-Medium-Enterprise (SME).
• User Institutions from international organisations, under the condition that the Lead User Institution and at least 2/3 of all the User Institutions (including the Lead User Institution) are located in a Member State or a country associated to Horizon Europe or to the Euratom research programme. In case of one or two User Institutions (including the Lead User Institutions), this requirement is only applied to the Lead User Institution.
• Ethical considerations in accordance with EU Law, in particular Art. 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, and applicable laws and regulations in the EU Member States.
• The proposal submission form is complete and complies with the instructions.

Selection criteria

Proposals will be evaluated in accordance to the following selection criteria:

• Scientific implementation (50 points)
• Collaboration and access to new Users (20 points)
• Strategic relevance (30 points)

How to apply

The proposal must be prepared using the Relevance-driven Proposal Submission Form.

During preparation of the proposal, applicants are encouraged to:

• Read the "Framework for Access to the physical Research Infrastructures of the JRC" and its annexes.
• Contact the research infrastructure at JRC-ENERGY-STORAGEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-ENERGY-STORAGE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) to assess feasibility aspects related to the capacity of the research infrastructure.

The proposal should be submitted to JRC-RI-OPEN-ACCESSec [dot] europa [dot] eub (JRC-RI-OPEN-ACCESS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) by the closing date of the call.