HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management is contributing to the European research initiative SAFELOOP, which seeks to develop a new generation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that are safer, more sustainable, and higher performing for electric vehicles, the institution said on Saturday.
The project aims to improve LIB safety, sustainability, lifespan, and performance at a European gigafactory scale. Specific targets include a 15% increase in cycle stability by 2030 and a doubling of operating life compared to 2019. It also emphasizes the use of recycled materials from closed supply chains to enhance sustainability.
SAFELOOP brings together 15 academic and industrial partners from 11 countries to advance competitive and environmentally friendly battery technologies. While HHL is not directly engaged in battery research, it plays a key role in intellectual property strategies and business model innovation, analyzing the global battery value chain and international patent landscape to support European battery innovators.
“Our work in the SAFELOOP project shows that HHL plays a central role in the development of future technologies,” said Professor Kelvin Willoughby, head of the Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at HHL. “We are not only strengthening Europe’s competitiveness but also actively shaping the shift toward sustainable innovations.”
Other academic institutions involved in SAFELOOP include Helmholtz Institute Münster, Imperial College London, University of Oulu, and several research organizations across Europe. The industrial partners range from American Energy Technologies and Denmark’s Koppers Group to companies such as Yunasko from Ukraine and Aspilsan Energie from Turkey.