Solid‐state batteries are considered as a reasonable further development of lithium‐ion batteries with liquid electrolytes. While expectations are high, there are still open questions concerning the choice of materials, and the resulting concepts for components and full cells. On the basis of an analysis of all materials and concept options, a roadmap for solid‐state batteries is presented, relying on both literature survey and experts' opinions. Diverse cell concepts with different solid electrolytes may be developed up to the commercial level, yet there are still major uncertainties concerning production routes, safety as well as cost. As one of the key developments, it appears that hybrid material and cell concepts may be particularly successful on the way to commercialization.

Batteries are critical to mitigate global warming, with battery electric vehicles as the backbone of low-carbon transport and the main driver of advances and demand for battery technology. However, the future demand and production of batteries remain uncertain, while the ambition to strengthen national capabilities and self-sufficiency is gaining momentum. In this study, leveraging probabilistic modelling, we assessed Europe’s capability to meet its future demand for high-energy batteries via domestic cell production. We found that demand in Europe is likely to exceed 1.0 TWh yr⁻¹ by 2030 and thereby outpace domestic production, with production required to grow at highly ambitious growth rates of 31–68% yr⁻¹. European production is very likely to cover at least 50–60% of the domestic demand by 2030, while 90% self-sufficiency seems feasible but far from certain. Thus, domestic production shortfalls are more likely than not. To support Europe’s battery prospects, stakeholders must accelerate the materialization of production capacities and reckon with demand growth post-2030, with reliable industrial policies supporting Europe’s competitiveness.

The increase in battery demand, particularly from the mobility sector, has resulted in a significant increase in the required production capacities. Europe is facing a large-scale expansion of production capacities. Currently, the battery cell demand in the region accounts for approximately 25% of global demand, while only 10% of global production capacities are located there. This has motivated the announcement of a large number of production projects of over 2 TWh by 2030, which would mean overcapacity compared to projected European cell demand. In recent years, however, many of the announced Gigafactories have been delayed or cancelled. This paper aims to develop a risk assessment model for forecasting realistic future capacities for battery cell production in Europe. The proposed model combines an evaluation of industry announcements at the project level with a Monte Carlo simulation to translate the announced production projects into a European production capacity forecast. Therefore, the likelihood of implementation for individual projects is analysed within 11 topics (company, country and maturity related) and scenarios for future European production capacities are elaborated. Model validation indicates that from 54% to 75% of the announced capacities in Europe are likely to be realised (approx. 1.2 GWh–1.7 GWh by 2030). The majority of battery production projects announced in Europe are still in the planning phase (66%) with Germany, France, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe emerging as key regions. The modelling of production capacities predicts that dependency on cell imports to Europe will be reduced compared to today.

A dense system of independent oscillators, connected only by their interaction with the same cavity excitation mode, will radiate coherently, which effect is termed superradiance. In several cases, especially if the density of oscillators is high, the superradiant decay of the oscillators’ excited state may dominate the intrinsic relaxation processes. At low frequencies, this limit can be achieved with cyclotron resonance in two-dimensional electron gases. In those experiments, the cyclotron resonance is coupled to the electric field of light, while the oscillator density can be easily controlled by varying the gate voltage. However, in the case of magnetic oscillators, to achieve the dominance of superradiance is more tricky, as material parameters limit the oscillator density, and the magnetic coupling to the light wave is rather weak. Here we present quasi-optical magnetic resonance experiments on thin films of yttrium iron garnet. Due to the simplicity of experimental geometry, the intrinsic damping and the contribution of superradiance can be easily separated in the transmission spectra. We show that with increasing film thickness, the losses due to coherent radiation prevail the system’s internal broadening.

Rapid advancements in lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology have paved the way for the electrification of diverse applications, with continuous improvements in performance, substantial cost reductions, and the emergence of new manufacturers, formats, and cell chemistries. However, this diversity poses challenges in identifying the most suitable battery cells for specific applications. Here, we present a high-level techno-economic framework for cell selection, leveraging an extensive database of over 500 real-world cells, techno-economic analyses of emerging applications, and a Python-based modeling approach. We apply this method to three electrifiable mobile applications with distinct characteristics: battery electric cars, industrial forklifts, and regional passenger trains. Our results emphasize substantial variations in technical requirements, from power capability to energy density or longevity. We observe no particular differentiation according to cell formats, but tendencies for most suitable chemistries per application. No cell is suitable for all applications, particularly regarding the required maximum cell costs to ensure profitability, ranging from a few to several hundred Euros per kWh to achieve cost parity with a state-of-the-art reference technology. These findings highlight the importance of tailored cell selection strategies for decision makers to optimize performance and cost-effectiveness across different applications.

Europe’s demand for high-energy batteries is likely to surpass 1.0 TWh per year by 2030, and is expected to further outpace domestic production despite the latter’s ambitious growth. To strengthen Europe’s battery self-sufficiency and competitiveness, policy-makers must accelerate the expansion of production capacity and implement reliable industrial policies that account for sustained demand growth toward and beyond 2030.