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== Background ==
The Green Deal sets ambitious goals for EU climate neutrality by 2050, enabled by a progressive increase of renewable energy share by 2030 to 40%, pursued by the ‘FIT for 55%’ package, and based on a more affordable, secure, and clean energy systems. The achievement of these targets requires the development of sustainable, interconnected, sector-coupled, and flexible Electrochemical Energy Storage (EES) systems, fundamental to guarantee the spatial and temporal matches between power generation and demand with high volumetric energy densities. However, current available storage options are limited by their costs, safety, storage time, size, and environmental concerns particularly when aiming for mid-long term storage requirements. As a solution to these EES drawbacks, metal-air batteries present several advantages like the use of aqueous electrolytes with inorganic salts, cheap and abundant active materials (e.g., zinc), and high gravimetric energy density together with long-term stability; but, even in a redox-flow configuration, they cannot guarantee storage times > 4-12 h, and the present mechanical recharging concepts (e.g., by replacing Zn anode or flushing a liquid anolyte or the electrolyte), require large peripheries and drastically increase operation and maintenance costs.

== Project Overview ==
High Performing Electrically Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries for sustainable mid-term energy storage (HIPERZAB) responds to the need of the development of safe, sustainable, high-performing batteries (generation 5 batteries), based on 3D structured anode, critical raw material free bifunctional cathode, a bilayer-GPE based on naturally occurring biopolymer for application in days-to-weeks stationary storage.

HIPERZAB will support Europe, in this sense, on its transition towards a climate-neutral continent since stationary energy sector is key for the realisation of emission-free future.

=== Objectives ===
The overall concept of the project is to design and validate in lab the ERZAB as a mid-term EES technology with high gravimetric energy density and long-term stability by using non-toxic, low cost and bio-based breakthrough battery components aided by computational chemistry and operando characterization techniques. HIPERZAB will move from TRL 1-2 to TRL 4.

Objective´s description

# Design and develop a porous 3D structured Zn/biopolymer composite electrode through electrochemical room temperature cold sintering process (RT-CSP).
# Design and develop a beyond SoA air electrode based on identification of CRM-free bifunctional electrocatalyst, thin film copolymer gas diffusion layer (GDL) and optimized electrode architecture (gas diffusion electrode, GDE).
# Design and develop a unique bilayer gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) combining the advantage of alkaline pH for Zn anode and slightly acid pH for air cathode by using naturally occurring biopolymers.
# Quantify, compare, and rank final cell design against SoA on multiple environmental and cost criteria to demonstrate the feasibility of a radically economic battery technology.
# Unravelling the correlations between materials, operating conditions, and electrochemical phenomena upon cycling through operando characterisations and multiscale modelling.
# Design and validate a device with a gel electrode assembly (GEA) and a structured cathode current collector under relevant use-case operations
# Establish the roadmap to impact the market.

=== Impact ===
HIPERZAB aims at delivering a novel ERZAB technology using a breakthrough battery concept not only because of the proposed materials and components’ design but as well the system engineering.

This technology is envisaged for stationary applications, with storage time and operations from days to weeks, featuring high RTE (>65-70%), high energy density (>150 Wh/kgcell), low cost (<80 €/kWh at TRL 6-7) and the use of non-harmful, sustainable, and recyclable materials (inorganic salt aqueous solutions, Zn, biopolymers, non-CRMs), compared to current available rechargeable batteries (mainly, LIBs).

Moreover, HIPERZAB will not only deliver a new product to the market but as well it will generate new markets for raw materials providers (e.g., metallurgic and biopolymer companies) in terms of business portfolio. Last, but not least, the development of HIPERZAB technology will provide a more sustainable battery technology, that enables the integration of renewables, based on Zn + air improving the societal acceptance of the energy transition, decarbonization though EES and renewables, and helping to achieve the European net-zero emissions objective by 2050.