On Thursday, 11 September 2025, the ALBATROSS consortium gathered for its Final Review Meeting at the Thon Hotel Brussels City Centre, Belgium. The full-day event brought together consortium members, industry experts, and representatives from the European Commission to reflect on the project’s achievements and future directions. Project partners presented their work to the Project Officer (PO) from the European Commission, reflected on achievements, and set the stage for what comes next.
Dr M A Hye Chowdhury, Lead Technologist at Technovative Solutions Ltd (TVS), attended the meeting representing TVS. We spoke with him about the key topics discussed, the achievements of ALBATROSS, TVS’s contributions to the project, and what comes next as the consortium looks beyond ALBATROSS
“The Final Review was an opportunity to bring together years of collaborative effort,” said Dr Hye Chowdhury. “It was not only a showcase of results but a moment to recognise how far we have come in shaping the future of electric vehicle batteries.”
The ALBATROSS Vision
Launched under the EU Horizon 2020 programme, the ALBATROSS project set out to address some of the most pressing challenges in electric mobility. Its objectives were ambitious: to increase energy density, improve thermal management and safety, and ensure that battery systems are designed with circularity and sustainability in mind.
“At its heart, ALBATROSS was about balancing performance with sustainability,” Dr Chowdhury explained. “We wanted to demonstrate that you can deliver higher efficiency batteries while also planning for their reuse, recycling, and reduced environmental impact.”
Final Review Meeting
The Final Review began with presentations from the teams leading the battery module design, packaging, and trays, followed by updates on the battery management system, thermal management, and sensing technologies. The session also covered progress in dismantling, reuse, and recycling frameworks, as well as integration and validation work carried out by demonstrator partners.
In the afternoon, TVS presented their contributions on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Sustainability. The key topics presented were:
- Environmental impact analysis of the ALBATROSS battery system
- Integration of external tools and knowledge sources into the KBE system
- KBE tool testing and refinement
- Sustainability analysis of EV batteries
TVS’s presentation was followed by a review of exploitation and dissemination activities by EWF. The day concluded with a consortium-wide reflection on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and the Project Officer from EC provided her assessment on the project’s outcomes.
Key Achievements
The consortium reported notable technical breakthroughs. Among the highlights were:
- A measurable increase in cell energy density from 250 Wh/kg to 259 Wh/kg.
- The successful development of a flexible and advanced battery management system.
- The creation and validation of a sustainable dismantling and recycling framework, enabling second-life applications for EV batteries.
“These achievements are significant not only for ALBATROSS but also for the wider European battery industry. They show that our innovations can directly support the EU’s targets for sustainable mobility,” said Dr Chowdhury.
TVS’s Contributions
As the leader of Work Package 7 on Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainability, TVS’s expertise in eco-design and LCA analysis played a pivotal role in the Albatross project. Their work focused on integrating environmental and economic assessment into the design process.
Dr Chowdhury outlined the main outcomes:
“We completed detailed LCA and Life Cycle Costing for the ALBATROSS system, tested multiple electricity supply scenarios, and integrated advanced tools like SimaPro and COMSOL into our Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) system. We also tested this system with partners, refined its usability, and developed a Multi-Criteria Analysis tool to evaluate design choices across technical, environmental, and social dimensions.”
This eco-design framework ensures that future EV batteries can be developed with full visibility of their environmental footprint, supporting smarter and greener manufacturing decisions.
Industry Use Cases
The project’s results were validated through real-world industry applications.
- Ford adopted ALBATROSS technologies for advanced thermal management and crash-safe housings in its EV platforms.
- Daimler integrated modules and trays into its electric and hybrid trucks, subjecting them to rigorous real-world testing and validation.
These use cases proved that the ALBATROSS solutions are not theoretical. They are ready to make a tangible impact in the automotive sector.
What’s Next for ALBATROSS?
Although ALBATROSS has formally concluded, its outputs are already feeding into new initiatives.
For TVS, the next step is the commercialisation of the KBE system for Electric Vehicle Battery (EVB) design and Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) developed during the project. “Our eco-design and LCA framework will directly support the implementation of the upcoming EU Battery Passport,” said Dr Chowdhury. “We are proud that, based on the outcomes of ALBATROSS, we have secured a Horizon Europe project, BASE, dedicated to Digital Battery Passports.”
Consortium partners also have clear plans: Cleantron is expanding modular solutions for automotive OEMs, the University of Nottingham is positioning itself as a centre of excellence in powertrain thermal management, and IREC is commercialising battery health algorithms to enable second-life applications.
Looking Forward
The ALBATROSS project has successfully demonstrated that battery innovation can be pursued without compromising on sustainability. By addressing the challenges of EV range, safety, sustainability, and circularity in one integrated framework. With lighter, more efficient, and recyclable battery systems, ALBATROSS lays the groundwork for the next generation of electric mobility.
As the consortium partners move into commercialisation, consultancy, and new EU projects, the legacy of ALBATROSS will continue to drive Europe’s leadership in sustainable battery innovation.
This project has received funding from the European Union's H2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 963580.
