We had the opportunity to interview Joseba Villate, CEO of Alterity, to answer some questions about his innovation and his company.
Alterity has been known for its disruptive approach to electric mobility. What motivated you to create a sustainable, modular battery model?
Worldwide electric vehicle sales have continued to increase globally, with significant growth in regions such as Europe, China and the United States. This increase is due to favourable government policies and increased sustainability awareness.
By 2030, global demand for lithium batteries is estimated to increase 8-fold, driven by this growth in electric mobility. Despite the growth, the market faces challenges such as shortages of crucial battery materials (such as lithium) and supply chain issues that may affect the production and cost of electric vehicles. Batteries’ life cycle is linear: they are manufactured, used and discarded. Some discarded batteries retain up to 80% of their energy. All this led us to seize a market opportunity, but we wanted to change the current battery model to make it more sustainable.
Our modular batteries are designed to offer maximum performance in a first life. When this battery reaches the end of its useful life, its modular design makes it easy to disassemble, recover the cells that still have energy remaining, and assemble a new second-life battery for less demanding applications, such as stationary batteries. With this, we enter a circular economy model, save resources, minimize waste and contribute to making batteries’ life cycle more sustainable.
How did the NEOTEC funding impact the development of your batteries and what was the process of submitting the proposal like?
Working on the NEOTEC project allowed us to accelerate the development process required for our modular technology. We had milestones set for development, validation, market launch and scalability. With the injection of funding and the collaboration in the project, we have been able to accelerate all this development for months, and apply it successfully in different markets such as electric mobility and industry.
The process required good planning and a lot of work for the proposal to meet the criteria established by the CDTI.
What differentiates Alterity’s batteries from traditional solutions regarding sustainability and circular economy?
If we talk about traditional solutions such as lead acid batteries, which are the most widespread, they require thorough maintenance to ensure their performance and durability. This includes regularly checking the electrolyte level, adding distilled water when necessary, cleaning terminals to avoid corrosion, etc. As they use acid, they cannot be disposed of typically and harm the environment and a full charge can take between 8 and 10 hours, with the consequent waste of electrical energy.
On the other hand, lithium batteries do not require maintenance, making them more convenient and efficient. They last between 8 and 12 hours, maintaining constant performance until the charge is almost exhausted. They also charge faster, completing the entire charge process in about two hours. And they have a significantly longer service life.
We can recover the components needed to extend their service life in a second-life battery thanks to Alterity’s modular design. This changes batteries’ life cycle, making them more sustainable and reducing waste.
How is Alterity contributing to reducing the carbon footprint in electric mobility, and what environmental impact do they hope to achieve in the long term?
Since its inception, Alterity has been committed to sustainability by producing customized, modular lithium batteries designed to have a second life. This approach reduces the consumption of critical raw materials, such as lithium, while decreasing water usage and CO₂ emissions. In addition, we extend our life cycle by using this circular economy approach, where battery components are reused in new batteries designed for new applications.
Extending the current battery life cycle and reducing waste has an environmental impact that leads to a more sustainable energy transition than traditional batteries.
How was the experience working with Evolution while submitting the proposal for NEOTEC funding?
The experience of working with Evolution was very positive. Evolution offered us key strategic support, helping us to structure and strengthen our proposal. Their experience in innovative projects enabled us to meet the requirements. Thanks to this collaboration, we presented a solid proposal aligned with NEOTEC’s objectives, which led to us being awarded the project with the maximum possible grant.
What are the following projects and/or future objectives for Alterity regarding market expansion and technological development?
This year, we have moved to our new facilities in Zamudio, which has allowed us to expand the space for new production lines with which we will expand market segments. We are already recognized in electric mobility and industrial applications, such as self-guided robots, and we have recently entered into batteries for forklifts, etc…
Another project we are working on is developing technology for second-life batteries in stationary applications, a market that has yet to be exploited.