There is an urgent need to eliminate our fossil fuel consumption to limit the possible irreversible climate changes. Storage of renewable energy from sun and wind is of utmost importance in this transition. Human mobility, e.g. cars and trucks, accounts for >25% of our CO2 emissions but electrification of this sector is slow, which is mainly due to high cost and insufficient performance of today´s Li ion battery. Our aim is to develop a sustainable calcium-based battery, which is safer, cheaper and with high energy density and a long lifetime, and with extreme societal impact. We already discovered novel Ca2+ ionic conductors, which can operate at moderate conditions. We expect that calcium as anode is compatible with nanostructured electrolytes as well as new cathode materials to be discovered. Advanced experimental and theoretical materials characterization will provide deeper understanding and a direct link to rational design of novel functional battery materials.
