RESiLiTE project reaches major milestone with receipt of battery cell samples
- The RESiLiTE project, co-funded by the European Commission, is focused on developing innovative battery packs for automotive and aviation applications.
- Since its launch in July 2025, the project has made significant progress, including receiving cell samples in January 2026 and beginning of rigorous testing at RWTH Aachen University to optimise battery performance safely.
- The project has defined technical system-level requirements, advanced the development of battery and vehicle architecture, and made significant progress in designing the Battery Management System (BMS), safety features, and fast charging capabilities.
5th March 2026 – The RESiLiTE (Robust, Economical, Silicon-rich, Lightweight, and Thermally Efficient Battery Packs) project, a groundbreaking initiative co-funded by Horizon Europe, the European Union’s primary funding programme for research and innovation, reached an exciting milestone at the start of 2026 with the receipt of cell samples in Bonn, Germany, at Kautex. This significant achievement represents a key step in advancing towards the project’s ultimate goal: the creation of innovative battery packs for automotive applications, with plans to extend this cutting-edge technology to the aviation sector.
The cell samples are currently undergoing rigorous testing at RWTH Aachen University, a crucial process that will generate critical data which will help fine-tune and optimise the sensing and control features of the Battery Management System (BMS). Securing these samples is a major step forward, as it forms the foundation for optimising battery charge/discharge timing (high C-rates), ensuring efficient operation without causing damage or shortening battery lifespan.
In addition to this critical milestone, the RESiLiTE project, which commenced in July 2025, has made significant progress over the past year. Notably, the technical system-level requirements for the battery packs have been successfully defined. Work has also been ongoing on the vehicle and battery architecture, as well as the design and sizing of the full battery pack. Moreover, RESiLiTE has also been developing the Battery Management System (BMS), safety functionalities and fast charging capabilities.
With 2026 set to be a pivotal year for RESiLiTE, the project will focus on finalising the design and architecture of the battery pack.
Stefano Piacquadio, project coordinator at Kautex, believes that the project “is on track to achieve all its KPIs by developing a prototype that is ready for industrialisation. Together with our partners, we are advancing the state of the art in battery pack technology, developing industrialisable architectures with exceptional packaging efficiency, high C-rate capability, and advanced diagnostics to support these innovations.”
About RESiLiTE
The RESiLiTE project (Robust, Economical, Silicon-rich, Lightweight, and Thermally Efficient battery packs) aims to integrate large format cylindrical cells (46xx, such as 4680, 4695, etc.) employed by major car manufacturers worldwide within a novel thermoplastic battery housing, increasing the energy density, energy efficiency, operative temperature range, fire safety and sustainability of upcoming battery packs.