FIB S.p.A.

FIB S.p.A., operating under the brand FAAM, is active in the design and production of Li-ion cells and modules for industrial, automotive, storage, and special applications. In the Teverola (Italy) cluster area, FIB’s pilot production of Li-ion cells and modules is based on high-voltage, high energy, and safe active materials with a year capacity of 0.35 GWh. A second pillar of the battery production at FAAM is the use of a sustainable and efficient manufacturing process to reduce the environmental footprint. The green manufacturing process is carried out by eliminating toxic solvents and reducing the CO₂-equivalent during production. FIB is also active in the production and recycling of lead-acid batteries, as well as in the design and construction of plants for an easy dismantling and recycling of end-of-life Li-based batteries. The mission of FIB is to deploy the first Mediterranean Gigafactory with production capacity of 8 GWh.

The EPISODE project will demonstrate and establish a European-based upscaled production of sustainable modular sodium-ion battery (SIB). FAAM has gathered the experts from the entirely European sodium-ion battery (SIB) value chain to develop, characterise and upscale the production of efficient and cost-effective Na cells and modules as sustainable alternative to Li-ion technologies. Leveraging their unique advantages, FAAM is aiming to address the market’s need for safe and cheap batteries suited for a wider operation range and climatic conditions by establishing the industrial production of SIBs. As leading European Li-ion battery manufacturer, FAAM will complete its current product portfolio by establishing a state-of-the-art production facility for Na cells and modules. The possible use of the same manufacturing method, infrastructure and machines adopted along the Li-ion batteries production will also contribute to produce affordable home storage and large-scale systems as final products. At project completion, FAAM will generate knowledge for a European-based battery ecosystem and present a feasible business plans for SIB industry by 2030 that will be able to compete with the strongest SIB industry in Asia.

FAAM will coordinate and manage the EPISODE project, playing also a central role in the technical, dissemination, communication and exploitation activities. FAAM will closely collaborate with WMG and CID to harmonise cell components prototyping as well as align the process development and upscaling activities. FAAM will manufacture and characterise 20 Ah soft pouch cells to demonstrate the industrial production of SIBs, reaching a TRL 7 at project completion. Together with defining the materials and Na-cells specifications, FAAM will establish the performance, safety, sustainability requirements and eco-design architecture of the final module, which will be then designed and assembled.